


To Be Free

by daniwritesattimes



Series: To Be Free [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Falling In Love, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Mental Instability, Mild Sexual Content, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:55:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 50
Words: 76,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26052259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daniwritesattimes/pseuds/daniwritesattimes
Summary: Though nearly strangers to one another, Neji and Shikamaru have to make a grave decision after being put in a dark situation. They have to run.
Relationships: Hyuuga Neji/Nara Shikamaru
Series: To Be Free [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1891198
Comments: 26
Kudos: 59





	1. Chapter 1

He was hungry, tired too. Beef or pork? What was he doing tonight? Were there documents he should be working on? When’s the last time he went on a mission?

“Shikamaru? Shikamaru, did you hear anything I just said?”

The Nara’s gaze slowly shifted from the sky’s wispy clouds back to the blond who had not stopped talking since they left her family flower shop. Her stare already told Shikamaru that, even by doing nothing, he had gotten himself into some serious trouble.

Ino rolled her eyes and in doing so dropped her heated expression. Each of them knew better than to trust Shikamaru to follow along to a story of any kind whether it be plain gossip or an emotional vent. He would hear none of it, yet sometimes he seemed to remember key points. Well he at least picks up enough to save himself during the following listening checks.

Shikamaru looked to Choji. Hopefully, his friend had been listening enough to entertain her rant. He then mentally cursed once he realized not even Choji had cared to listen in. Feeling defeated, Shikamaru slouched and shut his eyes. They were going to get an ear full now if they hadn’t already before, but as soon as the girl before him stopped clenching her teeth and opened her mouth, another effeminate voice sounded off in the distance. The Nara kept his eyes sealed until he could discern the exact voice that had interrupted Ino’s lashing out.

“Hey, you guys!”

TenTen. It was safe. The kunoichi should lift some of Ino’s irritation or at least share it with the two, male shinobi. After hearing the Yamanaka call in response, Shikamaru’s shoulders relaxed and he opened his eyes. A sigh of relief slipped from him as he watched team Gai approach the InoShikaCho trio.

“You guys feeling for some barbeque?” TenTen asked.

Choji didn’t answer only due to the fact that everyone already knew he would never turn down food, especially barbeque. As for Ino, however, it was never as easy.

“I don’t know, I’m trying to watch what I eat. I would still like to tag along though but at the same time, I don’t want to be tempted to eat anything that I shouldn’t.” Ino contemplated. TenTen’s focus never left the blond and showed complete interest as if the same applied to her as well. At least someone was giving the girl attention; Shikamaru and Choji could only do so much after a while.

Shikamaru’s eyes moved from the two girls that were incapable of answering a yes-or-no question. He looked to a beaming Rock Lee whose temperament was the same as always. The tai-nin even found a way to be boisterous without speaking. Shikamaru did always sort of admire Lee’s undying energy since the Nara himself was incapable of keeping his own spirits up in most situations. As long as he could remember, he had always been easily discouraged and never had the desire to put effort into self-improvement. It’s a wonder, but Shikamaru might even envy Lee for it.

Rock Lee’s eyes finally found Shikamaru’s and he offered one of his signature smiles. Shikamaru offered a bland lift of the corner of his mouth in return. Once Lee’s attention went back to the girl’s now discussing if they even want barbeque over ramen, Shikamaru’s eyes wandered again. He looked to the male standing dead still next to the ninja in green, Neji.

Neji stood with his hands at either side. His eyes were closed, and his head was ever so slightly tilted downward. A common stance the male took. Shikamaru began to notice it over the years. The lowered position of his head offered a sense of modesty versus the many Hyugas Shikamaru had seen in the village looking down their noses. Maybe it was a side branch thing. There never seemed to be feeling in Neji’s face but today it was more noticeable than ever. The man did not appear to be breathing. He was dead still. Something was different. The Nara will admit to himself that it was fairly rare that he even got the chance to just look at the Hyuga let alone speak to the guy, so what would he know? Shikamaru was on the verge of shrugging it off until Neji’s eyes opened, staring into Shikamaru directly as if the Hyuga had been observing the shadow-wielder through his lids the whole time. It made something shift in Shikamaru, something along the lines of discomfort. The stare wasn’t disproving, it was more so as if Neji had finally broken out of a spell of some sort and had finally returned to earth. Like he had forgotten where he was. Had he fallen asleep?

Shikamaru looked right back at him figuring that the longer he stared the more it would seem like he just expected the Huyga to say something instead of Neji gravitating towards the idea that Shikamaru had been studying him for the past minute. Neji deeply and silently inhaled finally averting his eyes to the conversation that was being held beside them. Shikamaru was left there alone still looking towards the Hyuga’s general direction. He looked to the gravel beneath their feet, Thinking.

“Can we just get barbeque?” Choji asked, desperation slightly evident in his voice.

“I’m not really feeling for meat.” Ino declined.

“Now that you mention it, I’m not really either.” TenTen followed.

This is crazy.

“They have salads at the place.” Choji offered.

“Are they good?” TenTen questioned.

Choji doesn’t eat salads.

“I don’t know.” Choji said.

“I could have some rice for sure.” Ino announced.

“So, I guess we’ll just have to settle on barbeque.” TenTen decided.

Without looking in the ladies’ direction, Shikamaru finally processed the conversation as a whole. He slowly narrowed his eyes. He will never understand women.


	2. Chapter 2

They sat in a wooden booth, each team occupied either bench. Choji had just ordered another round when the rest of the shinobi collectively decided they had all had enough for the night. Post-meal conversation began. TenTen asked about the Yamanaka flower shop, Lee began to enthuse about the effects of non-stop training and Choji had fallen victim of playing the listener this time. Shikamaru only watched the energetic boy. Neji, similar to the Nara, sat silently. Shikamaru grew bored of the talk of dumbbells and glanced over to the Hyuga across the table from him.

Neji’s head, as usual, was lightly tilted downward but this time his eyes remained open just barely. Shikamaru fully faced the Hyuga and watched for any sort of movement. The pale eyes did not appear to be fixated on anything in particular. They only stuck to the table in front of him. Neji’s lids were heavy indicating a severe lack of sleep. Now that he thought about it, Shikamaru did not see the man eat a thing that night. He looked to Neji’s empty plate that remained untouched. It had not moved from the spot where the waiter had left it. He didn’t blame the Hyuga. When Shikamaru was tired, the last thing on his mind was food.

“Shikamaru didn’t you say the deer started catching something?” Ino asked.

Shikamaru looked towards her as she leaned over the table in order look past the large man in between herself and the Nara.

“Really? Oh no, I’m sorry. How are they doing?” Genuine concern coated TenTen’s inquiry.

“Yeah, they’re fine. It’s just busy right now. There are a number of vaccinations we have to give them but it has to be in this certain order otherwise it won’t work which means there’s a lot that I need to organize in my dad’s lab while he goes out and gives the vaccinations in the order I place them in.” He rubbed the back of his neck and leaned back against the wooden booth. Leaning down to categorize the medicinal capsules was starting to give his joints hell.

“Is there any way that I could be of assistance?” Neji.

Shikamaru looked to the fatigued male debating on whether Neji had a reason behind wanting to help or if he should just say no in hopes of the Hyuga going home and getting some sleep for God’s sake.

Shikamaru’s hand slid from the back of his neck and planted itself on his cup. The Nara hesitated, but Neji never broke eye contact. He seemed very insistent on that offer. Shikamaru figured it was just sticking some names on some glass tubes, there would be no harm in letting someone ease up the workload.

Shikamaru shrugged, raising the drink to his lips, “sure,” he said indifferently as if he had not been pondering each and every outcome of the idea. Of course, the Nara thought of the possibility of the sleep-deprived-nin labeling the wrong glass and getting one of the deer killed. He would, however, like someone on the restocking job. It would be one last troublesome task on his hands.

Upon receiving approval of the task, Neji almost seemed to be relaxed for the first time since the Nara had laid eyes on him that day. Maybe saying yes was the right move. He sure as hell hoped so.


	3. Chapter 3

Shikamaru held the laboratory door open for Neji who carried boxes of fragile cargo.

“You can set it on the floor, wherever is fine.” Shikamaru directed, hand waving over the general area as he eyed the tons of solutions on the counter that he had to organize. The view alone seemed to make his joints creak, but he started on them straight away picking up blank stickers and a marker to name them. The liquids all appeared to be the same but after years accompanying — if not filling in for — his father during his medical studies, Shikamaru picked up on a few things. The final vaccination consisted of a liquid with the highest viscosity while the first injection was even thinner than water seemed like. He was able to label at record speed, but that didn’t change the dread he held for sorting through the pile.

The room was a box, Shikamaru always remembered saying. Each wall was lined with countertops with cabinets over-head that wore glass cabinet doors, revealing the contents within. In the center was a counter where most of the experimentation was typically done. All of the extra surfaces were where clutter was gathered in Shikamaru’s opinion, but he never complained in fear of being told to sort through that too. There was a door, dividing one wall’s counter-tops, that led to a closet that held things like testing tubes, syringes, lab coats, aprons, safety goggles, any lab equipment one could think of. It also held more vaccines and a refrigerated section for chemicals that were supposed to be held at a particularly low temperature.

Shikamaru remembered being a stupid kid wanting to know what was in the glass tubes, so he wandered in the walk-in freezer and got stuck in there. Luckily his old man came in to retrieve some extra ingredient otherwise Shikamaru might not have even been where he was now: Breaking his damn neck labeling these capsules. He then remembered that he wasn’t the only one in the lab. He looked up to find Neji studying the room and its seemingly alien aspects. At least the man was occupying himself, still he felt bad for not giving Neji further instruction after the Hyuga had so direly insisted on helping Shikamaru.

He cleared his throat successfully gaining the elder’s attention. “Could you get more of these bottles from the closet? They’re in the smallest glasses along the back-closet wall.” Shikamaru’s eyes remained on the tube in his hand as he pointed towards the back door. Neji nodded and walked towards it. “Please.” Shikamaru added just for courtesy even though the time to add it was long gone.

He heard the glass tubes being gently settled on the countertop behind him. The Hyuga was quick to spot them, would’ve taken Shikamaru a minute even though he was practically raised here. The Nara’s brow furrowed at reaching over and feeling no more label stickers. On top of that, he felt the Hyuga standing behind him at a loss of what to do all over again, and Shikamaru didn’t want to make Neji feel like the Nara was wasting his evening.

“Uh, could you,” Shikamaru looked around to make sure there were no more stickers to use, “Yeah, could you print some more of these?” He raised a named glass between his index and thumb finger. “There’s a printer on the counter right there across from me. It’s already set up to print them. You just have to press the print symbol and it’ll do the work.” Shikamaru thought he wanted the extra help, but now he felt ridiculous treating Neji like an intern.

Shikamaru stood from the draining position he forgot he had been in for a while now – he lost track of how long exactly – and rolled his shoulders. He stretched, successfully cracking some of his stiffness away. He rubbed his neck and looked to Neji who watched the printer produce each rectangular sticker. Something about it was haunting. Shikamaru couldn’t figure out if it was the fact that the Hyuga didn’t appear to be alive and breathing or if it was the late-night hour and the single ceiling light being the only thing illuminating part of the male’s white back side. It dangled over the central countertop but allowed darkness to swell in the room’s extremities.

Shikamaru leaned over the counter, bearing his elbows down against the surface, biting his cheek. He figured his eyes were now comparable to how Neji’s were last night at the dinner table. At least his brain doesn’t bounce from place to place when he’s worn out. It also means he doesn’t put as much thought into the things he says or does.

“I’ll be back.” Shikamaru announced surprisingly louder than the printing machine. “Gonna go check on my dad and… stuff.” By stuff he meant take a leak, but he didn’t see the point in continuing that thought. He lowered his hands into his pockets, taking his leave as the Hyuga remained glued to where he had been for some minutes now. Shikamaru shrugged it off this time and made his way down the hall. Maybe that’s just how the Hyuga is and he was just now able to see it for himself. Surely if something was off, TenTen or Lee would have questioned it last night.

He walked down the narrow hall and exited the building through the back door expecting to see his father tending to the herbs essential to the cure only to find that the plants had yet to be harvested. He didn’t know where else the man could possibly be, but the unexplained absence was normal behavior. If anything, Shikamau should have expected to find the garden empty. It only further urged the Nara to call it a night. He sighed and applied pressure to the back of his neck once more. Well on to the next thing he had to do.

Shikamaru limply pushed the door open to the single toilet washroom and passed by a mirror only to retrace his steps enough to observe himself in the glass. He was a wreck. Lines creased under his eyes that struggled to stay open. Tsunade has been giving him back to back enemy strategies to dissect and orders to lay out some for future use. He had been directing and advising some missions from the village and with each day he saw himself becoming his father. All he needed now was a whisker to emerge from his chin. He rolled his eyes shut and continued the task at hand.

He unzipped his fly and began his typical overthinking. Still the question of why Neji offered his assistance stood out to the shadow-nin. The time of night only made the question louder in his mind. He wasn’t exactly sure of what was keeping him from asking. He zipped his pants back up and decided to ask the Hyuga about what had been on his mind longer than anything would typically ever be.

Shikamaru washed his hands and splashed his face in an attempt to bring back at least half of his consciousness. He exited the vanity and walked back towards the laboratory, but when he entered, Neji was nowhere to be found. Maybe he had gotten tired of hanging around for no apparent reason at a ridiculous hour. The Nara was half surprised, half relieved until he turned and saw something blur past his vision.

His head spun back to the closet opening where he found an unconscious Neji lying on the floor amongst the room’s shadows.


	4. Chapter 4

A sharp and rushed panic shot through Shikamaru making him move instantaneously without a thought. He darted towards the closet and landed on his knees next to the elder male’s body.

“Neji?” Shikamaru shook him frantically. “Neji?!” His heart was racing. He wasn’t sure of what was happening, but he still felt as if time was running out. He saw the Hyuga’s sleeve had been lifted up. Shikamaru hurridly stood to his feet nearly stumbling backwards and turned on the closet light as quickly as possible. The syringe he spotted on the floor he assumed fell off the shelf when Neji hit the ground, but he now saw a small glass container next to the needle. He fell to his knees and snatched the glass from the tile.

Narcotic.

Neji injected an extreme narcotic into his arm. His bodily systems were going to quickly shut down if they hadn’t already.

“Shit!” Shikamaru threw it to the side and ran down the hall for the extra stock closet and prayed it was still in some-what of an alphabetical order. He cursed his and his father’s unorganized habits.

The Nara threw boxes and bottles of chemicals and equipment from the shelves looking for anything that began with ‘N’. Nothing.

He tore through the boxes. Nothing.

He began to race out of the room when something cracked under his foot. He looked down and saw the letter he was looking for. He grabbed it and held it out in the hall light. Naloxone. Just what he was looking for. Because he had stepped on the bottle, however, it was leaking.

Shikamaru raced down the hall with the substance trailing through his fingers. Nearly breaking down the door, Shikamaru pierced the top to the solution using the same syringe that had been used by Neji in order to fill it with the naloxone. He could care less for sanitation right now.

“Come on, come on.” Shikamaru whispered. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he pressed the needle into a pale, limp arm. Shikamaru sealed his eyes shut then looked to Neji’s face. “Come on!” Shikamaru yelled. His heart had risen to his throat, his pulse ringing. He felt as if he couldn’t breathe hard enough. He removed the needle from the Hyuga’s arm and dropped the limb to the ground. Shikamaru surveyed the still body. He slowly reached for a cool shoulder and gripped it, shaking the Hyuga all over again.

“Neji? Neji?!” He looked for any sign of life. Why had he-

Neji breathed. He gasped for air and coughed harshly.

“Neji!” Shikamaru exclaimed hoisting the man to sit up. Neji gripped on to Shikamaru. He appeared to be in as much shock as the Nara.

“Shit,” Shikamaru let go of Neji once he was sure the male could sit up on his own. “What the fuck, Neji?!” Shikamaru yelled harshly. He only earned an innocent, yet terrified stare like a deer that had detected a disturbance nearby. The pastel eyes reflected Shikamaru’s own. The Nara’s breath leveled out, settling his frayed nerves down with it. With a final exhale, the Nara closed his eyes and asked again but in a different manner. “What were you thinking, Neji?”

Neji’s eyes trailed down Shikamaru’s vest then to the ground and the empty, cracked glass of naloxone. His eyes were wide and blank as ever as if he had no memory prior to now, as if he were piecing the scene together himself.

Shikamaru opened his eyes awaiting a response only to find a shaking Neji who appeared to know nothing of his own actions. Shikamaru frowned and sat back off of his knees and against the wall. He looked directly ahead over Neji’s shoulder and into the laboratory. After a while of heavy silence, the shadow-nin rolled his eyes shut.

“I do not know.”

Shikamaru’s attention followed the voice. Neji still sat in a daze.

“I would have never thought to do anything of the sort.” He braced his hands against the tile floor to support his weight in rising to his feet and stumbled. Shikamaru leaned forward and eased Neji’s return to the floor. “I’m sorry.” Neji whispered. His gaze was not fixed on Shikamaru when the apology came out. His attention hadn’t been fixed on the Nara all night as far as Shikamaru was concerned. They seemed to be preoccupied as if there were someone else he were apologizing to. Neji apologized under his breath profusely.

“Neji, it’s okay,” Shikamaru promised through a sigh. “You’re alright.” The shadow-nin’s head fell back against the wall and he closed his eyes listening as Neji’s whispers slowly disappeared. The shadow-nin planted his head back against the wall one last time before the effects of racing up and down the facility’s hallway began to weigh down on him.


	5. Chapter 5

A cool breeze woke him from his unplanned slumber. He allowed the pain of his current position to finish the job of bringing him to full consciousness. Slowly leaning away from the shelves that had been digging into him, he winced and rubbed the small of his back. Finally, he brought himself to open his eyes and survey his surroundings.

He found himself sitting in the closet alone. He dropped his arm to the tile floor and groggily cursed. He took to his feet gradually and walked out into the laboratory leaving he closet wide open. The Nara’s mild annoyance for being left there had just about dissipated at the sight of what seemed to be a make-shift apology or token of appreciation. Everything in the lab had been apparently organized or at least organized enough. The printed stickers were neatly stacked, the tubes lay in rows on the center countertop. Not to Shikamaru’s surprise, the contents had not been categorized or grouped accordingly and part of him hoped the Hyuga didn’t waste his time trying.

Hyuga.

The Nara turned to peer back into the primary stock closet he had just crawled out of to find that the syringe and Naloxone had been removed. Another spin of the head gave him sight of the two items which now lay in the sink.

Shikamaru found himself standing and staring over the needle and capsule in the sink which he had handled as if his own life depended on it the night before. In a way it did. If the elder had slipped right through Shikamaru’s hands, it would have stuck to him for the rest of his life. In all truth, Neji’s life depended on Shikamaru of course, but he couldn’t help but think about what could have been had he not been able to revive the Hyuga.

“Great job, looks good.” Shikaku said as he entered the laboratory.

Shikamaru spun around, alerted by his father’s sudden appearance of which had shook him from his thoughts, “Oh, uh.”

Explaining the whole story would have been too much trouble so he shrugged.

“No, really thank you.” Shikaku pursued.

Shikamaru’s hands slid into his pockets and his eyes dropped to the medicinal capsules that sat on the center counter remembering that he had not yet organized the lot of them.

“I hope you don’t mean to tell me you’ve put these in order, Shikamaru.”

The younger Nara shut his eyes to the mild anxiety the question gave him and to save him the trouble of accidentally hinting that something had gone down last night. He was thankful that Neji had cleaned up before departing. He made a mental note to thank him later or confront him depending on what he felt in the moment. “No, there are some over there along the,” he lifted his arm to finish that thought through portraying what part of the room held what his father was looking for.

“I see.” His father answered. Shikamaru dropped his verbal explanation and lowered his hand back into his pocket. He turned to look out of the window. Nothing he was thinking surfaced to shape his features. Shikamaru consciously made sure of this because his father tended to raise questions to his mother then the woman would interrogate the hell out of the boy until jumping from a cliff suddenly seemed not too much of a terrifying idea, not really though. Though he made an effort to conceal last night’s events, he knew Shikaku knew his son better than that. Though Shikaku was hardly ever around, he knew himself and due to his son being an exact replica, all he had to do was reference himself to read the boy, so it confused Shikamaru when the man had no further words for him regarding it.

“Have you thought about taking my position?”

That’s why he hadn’t begun to pry.

Shikamaru eased his eyes shut all over again, practicing his response mentally so his tone wouldn’t be amiss. “Not really.”

“How come?” Shikaku’s back was turned as he collected the tubs to place in a clear container. Shikaku felt his son shrug behind him and continued speaking. “I know you say it would be too much to think about, but you’re the next best one in the village for the position.” Shikaku’s voiced dialed back from his previous joyful tone and moved towards one more insistent. “I’m not always going to be here you know.”

Here it comes.

“Nothing is guaranteed when I lead these missions, Shikamaru. One day I may not return which leaves you the spot automatically. You more than qualify for the job, kid. I just don’t understand why it’s so much of a problem.”

There it is.

Shikamaru’s body leaned in the direction of which his eyes wandered. He spotted the sun rays that crept through the narrow openings in the window’s bamboo blinds. He caught a small glimpse of the green trees that swayed in the breeze just outside of the lab and thought of how he’d like to be out there more than anything. Anywhere but in here with his conflicted old man.

“Tsunade would be glad to have you.” Shikaku added after feeling yet another shrug behind his back.

Shikamaru paused to think even further for a minute. He listened to the faint clinking of glass as his father piled the load into the plastic container. For the first time since the elder Nara had been there, Shikamaru planted his stare on Shikaku only to find the man’s back still facing him. He had mentioned Tsunade. It was no longer about his father’s desire, there was some underlying cause as to why he was so persistent.

“Tsunade?” Shikamaru asked uninterested.

“She’d give a lot just to have you working by her side.”

Shikamaru’s eyes never left his father but his mind did. He knew his father enjoyed mouthing off about his son’s achievements and how he would be just like his old man in the future. The leader of the Nara clan, the forest’s grand caretaker, the village’s best strategist, a member of InoShikaCho until the very end. At least, that’s how the man painted his son out to be. Just thinking of any of those placed something heavy on the shadow-wielder’s shoulders. His father could keep all of the above. Then he thought some more.

“You talked to her about it already?” He asked the man.

“Yes, I did. She has no doubt you’ll serve this village well.” Shikaku said with confidence.

Shikamaru once again picked up on the man’s use of the future tense. One thing he knows about his father is that once he had something planned out for his boy, there was no ‘if’ to it, it was only a matter of when. It told Shikamaru that the man more than likely didn’t stop at having something nice to say about his son but continued far enough to promise his son’s assistance in his own role once his time passed.

Shikamaru wasn’t sure of when it had happened, but his eyes had landed on a crack in the tile floor and his brows knitted. He felt his father staring at him. The younger Nara sighed through his nose and pushed away from the counter. “See you.” Shikamaru waved behind him and slipped through the door before his father’s hints could turn into demands.

Sometimes something deep within Shikamaru was yelling, telling him to just get lost somewhere, just escape. He was tired, way too tired to be thrown into anything else he didn’t have to be. Besides, he had something more important to be doing. He needed to find Neji to make sure he didn’t go somewhere else to finish the job he had nearly carried out the previous night.


	6. Chapter 6

Walking through the village, his father’s words continued to echo in his head unnecessarily. He hated when his mind did this; he hated dwelling on things. Dwelling never solved anything.

“Troublesome.” He mumbled to himself.

He eventually wound up in the Hokage’s office awaiting orders. He had subconsciously remembered he was assigned to a mission that day. His feet simply carried him to where he needed to be, and it wouldn’t have been the first time. His brain works more wonders than scoring exceedingly high on tests and predicting an opponent’s moves, sometimes his own mind would leave the Nara winded. It was almost as if it were apart from his own being as a whole. Shikamaru examined the shinobi that stood by him in the room to get an idea of what kind of mission was in store for the day or three. He caught glimpse of Naruto, Kiba and Neji, thank the gods, but why would they need two sensory specialists?

Shikamaru looked up to find Lady Tsunade eyeing him as if he had asked those questions aloud. She crossed her legs behind her desk and closed her eyes. Intertwining her fingers and leaning forward she began, “This mission is going to require extra attention to detail which means twice the surveillance hence Kiba and Neji being added to this operation. We will also need a grand amount of chakra in order to capture the convict which makes it logical to add Naruto.”

Shikamaru watched Naruto’s eyes widen with surprise. Looks like the Nara wasn’t the only one who was anxious for the explanation to begin. Naruto’s difference in chakra reserves had never been highlighted or explicitly asked for though everyone knew deep down he was not like everyone else when it came to stamina. What made it an even less touched topic was knowing exactly where it came from. Nothing was adding up which said something since Shikamaru’s brain tended to shoot off in every direction among being given any information of any kind.

“Shikamaru I’m assigning you to this mission because I need someone who can read the runaway inmate. He’s not your average crook. He’s creative. No one can make sense of his movements. The man seems to disappear in thin air or teleport. I’ve read the reports and his jutsu seems awful close to that of the fourth Hokage but it could just be some shady attempt at a replica. He was last seen in the Land of Hot Water. I need you to figure it out and capture him. Bring him here for investigation. Meaning I want him alive.” She narrowed her eyes emphasizing the need for the convict to be alive at the cost of anything. Shikamaru wondered how far the cost went.

Why had she put so much importance on the man being brought back with a pulse? It could only mean that he’s a hard one to catch, maybe even deadly. Capturing him alive could be a challenge. Needing a large chakra reserve can only chalk up to this mission possibly taking longer than Shikamaru would care for and the extra eyes and noses had to mean that the man is probably light on his feet; he must travel fast or hide well. Shikamaru closed his eyes, his hands had yet to leave his pockets since this morning in his father’s laboratory. Neji.

Shikamaru opened his eyes and glanced over in the Hyuga’s general direction, avoiding a direct stare. He saw his pale figure in his peripheral. At least he was there in the flesh. The Byakugan-user would be on this mission and with the three of them for some time. He wouldn’t be alone. Neji stepped back out of Shikamaru’s field of vision; the team began to depart. Shikamaru looked back to the Hokage who was now facing the large windows that kept the entirety of the village under her watch. Ironically, she saw nothing of the village and what took place beyond the large glass panes, so it seemed. Nothing at all.

Shikamaru was the last to file out of the door and the door just so happened to hit him on the way out since the toothy brunette in front of him couldn’t be bothered to hold it for the one tailing behind. A loud bang sounded off swinging back against the Nara’s face. He had been looking down, again lost in his own head and too far gone to be aware of his current surroundings. A muffled grunt could be heard behind the heavy wooden door. Each of the team members turned to see what had happened behind their backs.

Shikamaru’s hand emerged from the room holding the door open enough for him to exit and slow enough for the boys to start wondering if the shadow-nin had suffered a concussion. In all honesty, he was only dreading taking this mission. He centered himself in the mansion’s hallway and sighed looking to Kiba who appeared to be dumbfounded.

“How’d you let that happen?” Kiba honestly asked.

Naruto snorted, “Maybe Granny Tsunade forgot to remind him not to let the door hit him on the way out!” The way he said it implied that he had been letting the joke build up before laughing himself to tears.

“Maybe if you wore your head protector correctly like the rest of us, you wouldn’t be seeing stars.” Kiba needlessly added as he crossed his arms. Naruto’s laughter erupted into an even louder roar; his rasp ripped through the halls.

“Get going!” Lady Tsunade belted from her office. Naruto took no time to suppress his laughter and race down the halls as Kiba and Akamaru followed suit. Another sigh whipped through Shikamaru, and he began his trek through the building.

Neji walked in front of him. Maybe it was in his head, but the Hyuga seemed to be going out of his way to avoid him. Shikamaru hoped it was just another one of his superstitions that amounted to nothing. Although, typically, it was not just nothing. He watched the back of the Hyuga for a few silent minutes. Only their footsteps could be heard, but the more Shikamaru listened, the more he begun to realize that it was only his own footsteps that resonated off the walls. It only added on to Neji’s ghostly being. Shikamaru thought back to last night and how the Hyuga looked in the dimly lit closet hardly big enough to store the both of them. He remembered how cold to the touch he was. He was close, terrifyingly close to the end. The idea of Neji’s name not being written on the mission report because of his sudden death clenched Shikamaru’s throat. Again, he lost awareness of the present. Neji was here, he had saved him. He was not and will not be responsible for the Hyuga’s death. Neji was right there in front of him. Don’t dwell, it won’t do a thing.

Shikamaru held his tongue for a while until the walk became increasingly tense. They both knew about it and being in each other’s presence wasn’t going to allow them to forget it. He sucked on his lip before speaking.

“Hey,” he didn’t think about what he was going to say so he made something up, “You know anything about this escaped prisoner?” He was really reaching at this point. If all of what they had just been told was all of what Tsunade knew then Neji would know no more.

“No.” Neji replied as dryly as ever. Shikamaru wasn’t surprised still he began to think too much. If last night had never happened, he knew his mind wouldn’t be turning as much as it was now. He told himself this and attempted to continue, but Neji must have felt Shikamaru’s urge to push the discussion so he spoke first. “Have you?” He returned the question.

Shikamaru felt as if he had to speak over Neji’s shoulder. He knew the elder male was forcing conversation now just as he had been. Now he felt as if he were pushing Neji even further from comfort than they had already been in silence. Only, Neji was adept in pretending that nothing had gone awry the previous night, way better than Shikamaru at least.

“No.” Shikamaru admitted after forgetting to answer the man for some time. The question, he felt, brought them even further away from discussing what Neji tried in the laboratory and Shikamaru supposed it might be for the best. He began to relax without being aware that he was anything but at ease in the first place. Still he felt as if he were responsible for Neji. He may not have ever sat down and had a full discussion with the light-eyed nin but a part of him could tell Neji was not the type to be too open about what was going on inside. Shikamaru wouldn’t doubt that he’s the only one who has seen that side of Neji. The brink of death never failed to open eyes; it opened Shikamaru’s and wide. He decided he would take an effort to watch the Hyuga more closely. Last night had shaken the shadow-user to the core.

He wanted to speak but what about? He knew nothing of Neji. He’s always been a mystery that Shikamaru never bothered to touch. The exit to the Hokage mansion was visible to them from down the hall and was approaching rather quickly. He was too occupied with finding something for small talk. He didn’t want to have walked down all those flights of stairs in such close proximity only to have done it in just about complete silence. It would only make the incident more pronounced.

“How is it?” Shikamaru asked without specification. He just knew that Neji’s eyes were wandering now if they weren’t before.

“How is what?” Neji’s tone never changed.

Shikamaru shrugged and looked to the ceiling. The inside of him was balling up at the vague attempt towards a conversation starter. His thoughts came to a screeching stop when he caught a pair of opalescent eyes locking into his own black ones. Neji’s expression, though seemingly normal to the one he commonly displayed, somehow seemed to have shifted. Again, could be in Shikamaru’s mind. Shikamaru looked away immediately. He knew straight away that the Hyuga had jumped to the conclusion that he had been trying to bring up last night. It was the last topic Shikamaru wanted to touch. “You know, the team, Hinata, stuff like that.” He finished nonchalantly though nervous within. His palms had become tense in his pockets.

Neji looked away and dropped his eyes to the red carpet that lined the wooden planks. He closed his eyes. “Fine, thank you. How are you?” Just like that, he had brought everything back down more levels than Shikamaru could have imagined. All Neji had to do was look at him for him to feel out of place. The guy was intimidating.

“Great. Thanks.”

They finally exited the doors where they both found Naruto and Kiba supposedly debating over something that Shikamaru was sure was beyond irrelevant.

“Ha! I was right!” Naruto exclaimed. “I mean think about it. Neji is faster than Shikamaru. It only made sense that he would have been the first one out.”

Just like he thought.

“Shikamaru, man I’m never betting on you over anything unless it’s a damn shōgi match.” Kiba yawned as he leaned back on Akamaru. “Damn you guys took your time. What were you guys doing in there, tending to your well-deserved head wound?” Kiba side smirked.

“I hope I have a concussion so I can miscalculate steps in a strategy that’s supposed to keep your ass alive.” Shikamaru said, not stopping once to look at Kiba. His tone was never provocative no matter the words he used. His lazy nature dulled down any venom anyone else would have if they said half the things the Nara said. He strolled right down the steps, his expression uninterested as ever, and he started in the direction where the objective was last seen only it was miles and miles away. With two idiots and someone who had a probability of slipping though the earth at any time on the team, Shikamaru felt as if the inmate wasn’t the only one he had to keep a close eye on. The whole trip was going to be a drag.


	7. Chapter 7

“Come on, man, relax. I mean we’ve all seen the mark before. Just wind down for a few. What, do you think? That, all of a sudden with a few changes to the atmosphere, we’re gonna get a kick out of your forehead? Be real, man.” Kiba had been trying to get to the bottom of why Neji was suddenly behaving as if the curse mark were some sacred symbol that should never come across the eyes of anyone but himself. Kiba’s words did nothing to change the situation, for Neji still sat with his arms crossed, his eyes closed off from everything surrounding him. He was unresponsive which was typical of the man especially in a situation involving someone who spoke more than what was necessary.

The hot spring, being man-made, had a square shape to it and each male took a side. Naruto and Kiba were adjacent to each other. Kiba continued to question Neji’s motives as Naruto sat with his attention shifting between Kiba and Neji. To Shikamaru, it was as if the blond were watching a ball being thrown back and forth only the ball was not being returned in this situation. Shikamaru simply sat on his side of the body of water across from Naruto and watched Neji. He watched for any sign of irritation or discomfort and found none. Then his eyes traveled up to the man’s concealed forehead. It was odd that the curse mark would suddenly be a sore spot for the Hyuga. After years of each of them bathing in the village bath house, that wall of him had come down. Why was it suddenly as strong as ever?

“Anyways, Shikamaru why didn’t you tell me this place was so far away? There’s a number of things I would’ve packed more of especially since we’d be traveling through the _desert_ apparently.” The hound of a man finally gave up on digging up an explanation from the man sitting across from him. Kiba leaned his head back against the poolside stones and closed his eyes. His irritation seemed to have been diluted most likely due to exhaustion. They had been in the springs for a while now.

“Alright.” Shikamaru began, completely ignoring the sudden attention Kiba gave him, “I’m heading in.” The Nara slowly removed himself from the steaming water a little hazily from the prolonged exposure to the heat. Once he worked himself on to his feet he stood for a moment and dropped his lids. He had to recollect himself. He was more lightheaded from the steam than he thought. Shaking his head, he rolled his shoulders and peeled his eyes open to find Neji side eyeing him rather drowsily. The Hyuga was the only one focused on the Nara; the other two were half asleep in the boiling water. Shikamaru spared his strength from words and simply pointed to the small structure they were staying in that night. Neji nodded, dropping his lids slowly.

Shikamaru slid the door open slowly. His movements were never particularly sharp, but he couldn’t help but feel this was something different. He surveyed the room in search for his floor mat where his utility bag sat. First, he began to walk then a walk turned into a stumble then an unplanned collapse. He rolled over until he lied on his back and watched the sliding door. He felt dizzy, the room was moving. He heard the door open. It was Neji who froze in the doorway the same way Shikamaru had done upon first entering except he eased himself down to the floor right there instead of making it in. Luckily, his mat was closest to the door. He reached for his satchel and took out articles of clothing enough to replace the towel that hung around his waist. He swayed to a stance and began to dress himself before lowering to the ground all over again.

“Neji?” Shikamaru mumbled. He felt hot, way too hot.

Neji lifted his head, his loose top knot had mostly come undone and could now be considered a low messy bun, dropping stray strands that stuck to his wet shoulders. His eyes finally found the Nara, but then looked away to peer at something behind the shadow-nin. Something appeared in his eyes, something like a sudden hostility. Neji swiftly lifted himself from the ground and launched forward at a great speed that left a wind to wash over Shikamaru who still struggled to see straight. He heard straining behind him, but he couldn’t bring himself to turn, he was too weak. The Nara looked out of the sliding glass door and noticed that Naruto began to slip. His blond hair disappeared under the hot spring and Kiba was still unconscious. He has to do something. He couldn’t move. He tried calling Neji’s name, at least he thought he was calling his name. He felt himself trapped in some sort of dream state similar to sleep paralysis.

He heard a yell.

Shake it off. Come on, get up. Be useful.

Something came crashing down on the other side of the room still not visible to the bed-ridden Nara.

Get up. Come on.

Yet another race against time.

He started to move his fingers. Progress. His arms felt as if they weighed one thousand pounds, but they began to move. He threw his arm over his stomach and rolled to the side to push himself up. Finally, he could see Neji and a mysterious figure having a falling out. It seemed to be an equal match until finally Neji realized the intruder would not let up. He stopped holding back and landed hits on the chakra points, effectively knocking the man unconscious. Neji fell once again. Shikamaru found himself hoping, once again, that he was actually voicing his calls. Neji looked up towards the younger shinobi. He had heard him.

“Neji. Naruto,” Shikamaru managed.

Neji looked up through the door and rose to his feet sluggishly.

The hot spring was not normal after all, there was some sort of additive to the mists, there had to be.

The elder managed to get halfway across the room before he fell to a kneel, he then planted his hands to the ground.

“Naruto,” Shikamaru voiced weakly, capturing Neji’s attention. Shikamaru lifted himself into a crouch steadying himself with his hands. He lifted his gaze to see blood coming from under Neji’s plain, cloth headband. Shit. It seemed like the Hyuga was completely oblivious to it too. Shikamaru evaluated their position, then it dawned on him. “Akamaru!” He used all of his strength in belting the call.

A distant, girlish scream sounded. Shikamaru guessed the oversized mut was running toward their room and terrorizing the inn employees along the way. The sign said no pets allowed, but he needed the dog more than anything right now.

“Akamaru, get Kiba and Naruto.” Shikamaru breathed out.

The dog came crashing in through the door. Thank the gods for his size. The animal ran out to the poolside and yanked Naruto by his hair to get the boy to sit up. Thank the gods, thank the gods. Kiba, who had never gone under began to come around. Shikamaru could tell the Inuzuka was terribly confused but wasted no time in checking up on Naruto. That was all Shikamaru needed.

The Nara felt his strength returning. Neji, still in a daze, watched as Kiba began CPR outside next to the hotspring. Shikamaru made his way to the Hyuga’s side and removed the soiled head band intending on tending to the wound.

Neji had reacted in a weak, panicked manner and swatted his hand away only to be too late. The injury and intoxicating mist had delayed his reaction time. The bloody cloth around his head was gone and now Shikamaru sat and studied where said curse mark should have been. The only thing that took up the empty space was a bloody cut.


	8. Chapter 8

Shikamaru remained crouched. He froze with Neji’s headband which threated to slip from his grasp. He stared right at the bare forehead. Neji watched Shikamaru in shock.

The moment the door slid open, Shikamaru covered the boys’ view of the Hyuga, reapplied the head band and continued to clean the blood that had dripped down Neji’s face.

“You dumbass, were you trying to die? Gave me a damn heart attack. I would have had to answer as to why Naruto Uzumaki was nothing more than a casualty on the mission. Imagine dying before we even cross the enemy! I mean what kind of...” Kiba’s rave came to a stop once he saw a body mounted against the wall closest to the door that now barely hung from its hinges. “What in the…” He looked towards the Nara who appeared to be patching up Neji’s wounds. “The hell happened here?” Kiba questioned harshly.

Shikamaru’s face took no time reverting to its calm state, amazing the Hyuga who could barely see straight. 

“Alright you two shut up, Neji’s got a concussion. I’m gonna rush him to the hospital or whatever they have out here. You two stay here and watch that guy.” He pointed a thumb towards the unconscious man in the corner. “Don’t let him escape. He could be our guy. Search him for anything that could confirm that.” Shikamaru said.

Neji’s eyes slowly followed the Nara’s movements. It was hard to pick up on anything beyond surface level. Before he could register what was going on, he felt himself being lifted from the ground. Shikamaru had wrapped his arm around the Hyuga and brought him close to his side.

“Just try not to close your eyes. Would help a lot.” Shikamaru said.

Neji looked directly at Shikamaru with heavy lids. He felt as if melatonin had suddenly begun to race through his system. His eyes shut without warning.

“Hey.” A muffled voice. “Hey, what did I say? _Don’t_ go to sleep.”

Neji tried to move his fingers in an attempt to stay awake, but they would stop and fail to comply.

Stay awake.

Sounds would come and go. Things mended together, things such as sensations and the time that had passed.

Stay awake.

Things went silent, he could no longer feel his own body.

“Neji!” Shikamaru exclaimed.

Neji’s eyes eased open to multiple blurry figures over him. Only one was faintly recognizable. He made out his vest and hair. None of their words registered. He slipped back into a light sleep that felt inevitable. He could no longer fight it. Slowly one by one the feeling of the hospital sheets dissipated; the voices hushed. He could no longer even register the temperature of the room. He fell in deep.


	9. Chapter 9

“Sir, we’re going to need to have you leave the room.” The medic shoved Shikamaru back towards the double steel doors. Shikamaru turned and left the doctors to attend to their jobs.

He cursed himself for not being able to get off of that mattress, he cursed himself for not speaking to the Hyuga more often, he cursed himself for not saying anything about last night, he cursed himself for more than he knew he should. He cursed and cursed until his mind took a new approach. There was a possibility that Neji may have wanted this. He nearly killed himself last night, who’s to say he had a sudden change of heart just because the Nara did? For all he knew, the Hyuga could have led the guy to their room. No. Don’t assume the worst. The last thing he wanted was to resent the male as he lies on his potential death bed.

He collapsed in a chair in the waiting area where other villagers awaited their loved ones. Shikamaru couldn’t get comfortable. It was typically his specialty, but he found himself shifting from position to position. His hands could not even sit comfortably in his pockets. He couldn’t help but link everything to be his fault. He leaned forward, bearing his elbows against his knees. He joined his hands and shut his eyes. His heart was pounding. Anything he looked at only further frayed his nerves. Everything was a reminder of where he is and for whom. His surroundings brought him back to the failed mission to retrieve Sasuke Uchiha. He licked his dry lips and tapped his foot frantically. He heard doors open. The entrance to the waiting room held a doctor who looked throughout the room for a particular individual. He began walking towards Shikamaru, setting his pulse through the roof. The medic’s expression was that of a bearer of bad news. The Nara’s breath stopped when the man walked past him and towards a woman and her two children. Their discussion could not be heard. Shikamaru’s expression dropped and he looked away. He hated stuff like that.

The woman cried out. She screamed no’s and the name of the person Shikamaru believed they had just lost. It was a man’s name, possibly her husband. It made Shikamaru lose even more hope. He closed his eyes. The woman wouldn’t stop crying. He didn’t want to see that. He breathed heavily through his nose. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and looked over towards the run-down man beside him. He was waiting for someone just as Shikamaru was. The man offered a shattered smile. His teeth were worn and apparently hardly ever tended to. He had a gruff, grey beard and wore a holey, fingerless mittens. His clothes were of no better condition not that Shikamaru cared anything about it especially now. The Nara then surveyed the area and found that the building was no better. It was aged and was poorly kept. It did not appear to be the hospital that would have the equipment they needed to treat highly specialized cases. Many of the lights were out, there were leaves and dirt all over the yellowing tiles. The front desk was anything but organized and had no one behind it. Shikamaru’s stomach dropped and he rubbed his face. They should have spent the night in the more luxurious are of the Land of Hot Water.

The man began to speak. “You here for someone too?”

Shikamaru looked to the clock on the opposite wall. “Yeah.”

“That clock doesn’t work. Hasn’t worked for a month now.” The man informed.

That was something a frequent visitor would say. Shikamaru looked to the man. “Who are you here for?” He asked.

“My daughter. She’s terribly ill. Took after her mother, they’re both sickly poor things.”

Shikamaru dropped his eyes. “I’m sorry to hear that.” He really was. He never knew how the sense of loss in one single room could be so tremendous.

“It’s okay. We’ve got faith that we will all be okay, even if we aren’t here together.” The man offered his hands, “Come on.”

Shikamaru looked to the man’s hands unsure of the stranger’s intentions. He stared at the hands that wore worn mittens and a layer of dirt, a surely hard-working man. Looking back into the man’s eyes he placed his hands in the one’s provided. Shikamaru looked away feeling quite out of place now if he hadn’t before.

The man slipped his eyes closed and began to mumble. The shadow-nin assumed the, now, acquaintance began to pray on his behalf. The land’s customs must be different. A simple and kind gesture. Although Shikamaru never found his place in that type of stuff he greatly appreciated it. It felt to be the only thing he could do for the Hyuga at this point so why not?

The man gripped Shikamaru tightly upon finishing then nodded his head. Bringing the Nara’s hands up towards his face, he kissed either hand then released the boy. The man offered a sweet smile.

“I hope the best for you and your loved one.” The man said.

“Thank you,” was all the Nara could honestly say. He was at a loss for words, so he returned a fatigued smile.

Another man in white made his way into the room motioning for the man to follow him to the back of the building. The religious acquaintance stood and lowered his head toward Shikamaru before departing.

Shikamaru sighed and noticed how empty the room now was. He felt something wet against the back of his neck roll down his shirt. He sat up straight and looked up. There was a leak in the ceiling. Much of the ceiling did have leakage stains to begin with. He looked out of the window. It was pouring rain. Of course, the building wasn’t properly sealed, he should’ve seen that one coming. He stood from his seat and watched the water pile up into the dent he had made in the cushion of the seat. He began to zone out, thinking of what he would say once he returned with a team lacking a member.

“Shikamaru?”

The shadow-nin slowly turned towards the man in the door. His eyes must have been filled with reluctance because the medic rushed over to his side. “He’s okay follow me, it’s going to be okay.”

Shikamaru began the trek down the hall. He knew that if this hospital was worth anything, then there was no way in hell they would have let him back here this early, but he disregarded it.

He approached Neji’s bed side and analyzed his state. The Hyuga was still sort of out of it but was at least awake. 

“We’ve stopped the bleeding and cleaned him up. He can’t be on pain medications now, we just need to keep him awake for right now, can you help us with that?”

He nodded unenthusiastically.


	10. Chapter 10

Little did Shikamaru know that he would be the one watching over Neji alone when they had asked for his assistance. The area needed more funding in the medical aspects of the village. Neji lied there on his back dead still once again.

Shikamaru sat in the chair beside the bed and watched him. Neji should be tired after the long day of travel and sudden battle he fought when he was in no condition to even stand up straight, but he had to stay awake.

“Neji.” Shikamaru weakly called. He got nothing in response, so he cleared his throat and tried again, this time tapping the elder male’s shoulder. “Hey, man, wake up.”

Neji’s eyes began to repeatedly roll open and closed. He was trying to his best ability Shikamaru could tell.

“Mkay, well how about this,” Shikamaru was worn as well. His body was finally crashing after the adrenaline that had worked his respiratory system to death. The Nara stood and carefully grabbed a hold of Neji by wrapping his arms around the Hyuga’s shoulders, lifting him enough for Shikamaru to place more pillows under Neji to keep him upright. “Should make it harder to drift off.” Shikamaru sat back down and began thinking about what he would use to keep himself occupied. He grabbed a booklet that had fallen from the table next to him. The title read _Political Scandals_. “Mh. Politics.” He mumbled aloud before opening it.

A few minutes passed before Shikamaru checked up on Neji again. “You still awake?”

“Mh.” Neji moaned.

Shikamaru sighed and closed the magazine that seemed to be nothing but complaints from people who would never even try to be happy. Much like himself, he hated to admit. He looked to the Hyuga who began to slouch away from the pillows.

“Hey.” Shikamaru quietly alerted.

Neji’s eyes slowly widened as he sat back against the wall of pillows. He then closed them only to be told to open them again.

Shikamaru could only imagine the type of pain the guy was in right now. His head was busted open but was denied pain medication. Shikamaru knew that the pain relievers could increase the risk of bleeding but that didn’t change the fact that an eternal slumber ought to be preferable over suffering in a bed for hours.

Shikamaru looked around. “Paper?” He held it out to Neji.

Neji’s eyes slipped open and he turned his head to face Shikamaru for the first time since he had stepped foot in the room. The white-eyed male said nothing and only gave the Nara his undivided attention.

“It’s just politics.” Shikamaru lowered it back into his lap and opened it.

“I heard.” Neji said, closing his eyes.

Shikamaru began to read. “The people of the Land of Hot Water are asking where all of their money is going.” He then chose that as a topic. “Apparently this place exports a lot of their products like cactus juice, antivenom, important minerals and stuff like that and they aren’t cheap things either. They sell things like seasonal fruits at times of the year where it would be impossible to grow them. They distribute herbs that we even buy to treat the deer. We mix them with the ones we grow out back at the lab.” He stopped himself. He did not want to touch anything remotely related to the incident. Here he was in another near-death situation with the same guy. It was a pattern Shikamaru didn’t like at all. His energy began to leave him when his previous thoughts began to creep back in. Neji might not have wanted to be saved.

“The citizens believe their government is stealing from them.” Neji mumbled, making sure that he had grasped what was said to him. His eyes never reopened, but he furrowed his brow partly from the political predicament and the pain that still shot through his head.”

“Yeah.” Shikamaru sighed. Just when Neji began to try, Shikamaru had lost the urge.

They sat in silence. Shikamaru had no other choice but to speak to the Hyuga to make sure he didn’t go under.

“Uh…” The Nara began only to be beaten.

“I’m sorry.” Neji said.

Shikamaru opened his eyes to the cracked tile in between his feet. He thought it would have been unmentionable with the Hyuga simply because of the type of person that Shikamaru had presumed Neji was. He was surprised that he was the one bringing it up.

“I really do not know what I was thinking in the lab. I swear to you that was not my intention when I offered help.”

This was Shikamaru’s chance to ask his question that no longer mattered, but why not make discussion? “Why did you want to help?”

Neji opened his eyes and stared to the potted plant on the table that sat next to Shikamaru. “There were very few missions being given out and I wanted to do something with my time.”

Bullshit. “So, you’re just a busy body then?” Shikamaru needlessly asked knowing there was another reason apart from what Neji had offered.

The Hyuga took a minute to reply. “Yes.” He settled on that answer.

Shikamaru sat back against the wall and tucked his hands into his pockets. “So, you’re okay now?”

Neji didn’t say anything.

He might have been too vague, so he pushed on. “Would you do anything like that again?”

Neji knit his brow staring off into the distance as if he were a blind man searching for the one speaking to him. “I have no reason to die at my own hands.”

“You do see reason to live though?” Shikamaru knew he went too deep with that question but right now everything was murky, and he wanted to know for sure that he could stop worrying about the man.

“Mh.” Neji began to drift again.

Shikamaru hopelessly stared to the still Hyuga.

“I assumed you two will be staying the night?” A medic busted through the door unannounced successfully waking Neji and making Shikamaru jerk his shoulder.

“Uh,” The Nara began after looking the man up and down like he was out of his mind. Another drop of rainwater landed on his nose. “Yeah I guess we both are.” He dead panned.

“Kiba and Naruto?” Neji mumbled.

“They’re fine, don’t think too much, you might hurt yourself.” Shikamaru stood to get the blankets from the man in the door. He nodded a thank you before closing it behind him.

Thunder sounded outside waking Neji again.

“Thank the gods, at least mother nature’s helping me keep you awake. This place sucks.” Shikamaru said unfolding the blankets. He could have sworn he heard Neji hum in amusement at his unintentional crack of a joke. It eased the air around them just a bit. “So, the mark. What are you going to do about that?”

“I have to be resealed.” Neji put plain and simple. Shikamaru should have guessed.

“Where did it go exactly?” Shikamaru asked.

“I must have really died the night you saved me. It does not explain as to how I am still able to use the Byakugan. It should have been destroyed after death.” Neji explained.

“Maybe it takes time to follow through? I mean you really came close to no return. So, the curse mark goes then the eyes?” Shikamaru sorted through the little that he knew of the clan.

“I suppose.”

Neji looked to the window and Shikamaru looked around the room.

“What if… you didn’t get resealed?” The Nara asked out of plain curiosity. The way the Hyuga clan governed itself always got under his skin.

“I would be banished from the clan, never to Identify as a Hyuga ever again.”

Okay, so not some sort of cruel death penalty. Something about the strict clan always seemed like capital punishment was their number one go-to in Shikamaru’s mind.

“Or death if I refuse to be stripped of the Byakugan.” Neji finished.

“Why death?” The shadow-nin sounded more bothered than he preferred.

“The whole purpose of the seal is to avoid having the Byakugan stolen from us. To allow someone who is not of your clan wander the earth with your clan’s jutsu at their disposal can be seen as a threat to the secret behind our dojutsu.”

Well now he understood Neji’s motivation to be resealed. It told Shikamaru that the elder truly did not have a death wish which should have been a relief, still, he felt uneasy.

“The Hyuga clan is filled with secrets, Shikamaru. Ones that not even I am familiar with, yet know exist.”

Shikamaru always knew the Hyuga’s hatred towards his clan could not have disappeared completely. After everything, something still had to remain, and he had briefly shown it just now. The way he spoke held a bitterness that was not normally present on the male’s surface. Shikamaru did pity him but also felt as though it was not his place to talk about. Then again, who does Neji have to talk to about things such as this? That could have been the reason behind the slip up. Shikamaru looked to Neji whose face now held a very slight scowl.

Oh man this was new. Maybe the hit to the head realigned the guy’s thinking.

“However, when I find myself regressing to that mind set, I remember Lady Hinata and how kind she has always been regardless of house status. I regret ever attempting to harm her over my own loss.”

Oh good.

“Have you ever thought about betraying the clan?” Shikamaru asked.

“The fear was too great. Previously I wanted equality, yes but how would I achieve it? Now, I only desire distance from the Hyuga clan, but I cannot not even be granted that. It is simply a life I have become accustomed to. As long as I do as I am told, nothing is intolerable. I just had to realize that.”

None of that sat right with Shikamaru. He stood still as his eyes wandered around the room once again. He was sure Neji had picked up on his discomfort. Perhaps the reason as to why Neji typically kept to himself was because he carried deep things that he felt no one should ever have to listen to. Maybe not, maybe he just didn’t enjoy speaking about himself which Shikamaru could understand. The Nara’s silence made everything awkward all over again. There was nothing he could say to that and he didn’t see the elder male as the type of guy that cared anything about being pitied.

“That’s…” Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck then sighed dropping his hand against his leg.

“What else did you read in the magazine?” Neji asked.


	11. Chapter 11

Shikamaru awoke to a stretching Neji.

“I don’t think you’re…” Again, the door busted open in the middle of Shikamaru’s thought, but this time it wasn’t a nurse.

“Hey guys.” Kiba greeted with Naruto following him through the door.

“…supposed to be out of bed.” The Nara needlessly finished.

“Neji seems fine. Why didn’t you let us know what was going on, Shikamaru?” Naruto asked.

“The weather sucked. Where is the guy that I told you to keep watch over?” Just as Shikamaru asked, a group of Naruto’s shadow clones appeared holding the very man that had been beat down the night before.

“Funny thing turns out he’s our guy. Fit the description and everything.” Kiba chuckled.

“Yeah, and it was actually pretty easy to figure out what he was doin’ too. He could only teleport to certain areas, but my clones would be there waitin’ for em.” Naruto laughed.

“Maybe the security guards were just super weak or something. I mean to let this guy escape…” Kiba wondered aloud.

Shikamaru tilted his head and looked at the man that they had so greatly overestimated. “Huh.”

On the way out, Shikamaru spotted the kind man from last night in the waiting room. “Hold on guys.”

The Nara quietly approached the man and crouched down in front of him in respect. The man looked from the Nara to the group Shikamaru seemed to be traveling with. He caught glimpse of Neji who wore bandages around his head. “I see everything turned out just fine. Though, shouldn’t your friend still be resting? Seems like quite an injury to just walk off the next morning.”

“Thank you for everything last night. He’ll be alright, we have somewhere we really need to be.” Shikamaru spoke. He was sure the man was looking directly at the criminal Naruto was holding captive.

“Well okay, then.” The man sighed rather sadly. He smiled to himself and wiped a tear. Shikamaru’s expression became grave. “She didn’t make it, but…” He lowered his head and sniffled. “She’s with her mother now. She’ll watch over our girl until I get there so I can lend a helping hand.” He chuckled. “Our girl sure is a handful.” He fiddled with a sheet of paper which appeared to be some sort of medical bill. Shikamaru couldn’t believe a place like this still charged the man after they failed to save his daughter.

Shikamaru aimlessly searched the man’s shirt then closed his eyes, holding a few moments of silence.

“Don’t fret about little old me, though. I know I am bound to see her again. It was a pleasure meeting a fine young man such as yourself…” He trailed off realizing he never caught the Nara’s name.

“Shikamaru.” He knew he should have used an alias, but something told him it was okay.

“Ah, Ichiro,” The man warmly greeted. Even when faced with loss, he never lost his cheerful aura.

Shikamaru held out his hands for the man to hold then placed a small bag carrying enough to cover at least some of Ichiro’s medical expenses. The Nara nodded and stood to take his leave.

“Why, I don’t know if I can take this!” He exclaimed.

“Please do, it’s all that I ask.” Shikamaru assured.

More tears followed the initial one along with many expressions of gratitude. The man finally looked to Neji. “I hope you feel better soon, son. Remember, we only have someone in our lives once. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. Make the most of it while they’re here. Here with you.” With that, the man earned Neji’s gratitude for the insight and a respectful bow of the head.

They exited the building and the prisoner began to cause a ruckus.

“You can’t hold me forever. We will rise and take action against the schemes organized by the very men who are supposed to provide for us. We slave away day in and day out on our plantations and our craft tables, sail boats and in our shops!” He exclaimed trying to fight the blond’s grip.

“Hey cool it would ya?” His clones all began shouting simultaneously.

Shikamaru dropped his head. So loud.

Akamaru began to bark as Kiba watched, amused on the sidelines. Suddenly, Shikamaru heard nothing followed by exceedingly loud laughter from the Inuzuka.

“Damn, Neji! I knew your head probably still kinda hurts, but I didn’t expect you to knock him out cold like that!” Kiba teared up hysterically.

Shikamaru turned to face a group of Narutos carrying an unconscious criminal, an overly excited Kiba and a wincing Neji massaging his own temples. The Shadow-nin analyzed the situation then walked over to the group of shadow clones and offered them wire rope to tie the convict. He then walked over to Akamaru and guided him towards Neji. “Neji ride Akamaru so you don’t worsen your head.” He knew the male would be opposed to that which is why Shikamaru moved on to Kiba before Neji could kindly protest. “Kiba, stop.” The Nara ordered. Kiba calmed down and wiped tears from his face.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It’s just the guy was in the middle of throwing a fit when Neji comes in and chops him in the neck. Am I the only one who got a kick out of that?” Kiba spread his arms.

Shikamaru sarcastically smiled. “No, it was hilarious.” He leaned forward, hands in pocket.

That stopped Kiba’s rise altogether. “Man, way to rain on another parade, Shikamaru.”

The Nara had already moved on as the Inuzuka dwelled. He watched Neji ponder on whether he really should ride the hound or not until his body flinched from another sudden pain. He mounted the dog almost instantly. Good. Shikamaru looked over everyone once again just as a head count then spun on his heel and started for the village which would take another troublesome eighteen hours.


	12. Chapter 12

“Well, all of the high alert did seem a bit silly.” Lady Tsunade watched the convict as he continued giving speeches on his political views while attempting to free himself from the restraints of the police forces. “Escort him to the interrogation room.” She sighed, gripping the bridge of her nose.

They all stood at the village entrance awaiting the Hokage’s next orders.

“Maybe it’s just been so peaceful that it’s been boring, then when we finally get something to deal with we go overboard. I was thinking if he slipped past the guards then he was someone worth fearing but turns out we just need to tighten security.” She began speaking to herself. “Alright well I don’t need anything else from you, good job shinobi. I’ll let you know if anything worth your time comes up.”

The convict could still be heard yelling in the distance.

“Goodness.” Lady Tsunade took off towards the Hokage Mansion, leaving the team to disband as they please.

“The most threatening part of the trip was the nasty heat… Bath house anyone?” Kiba asked, turning on his heel to face the small group.

“Yeah, I could definitely use one.” Naruto scratched his back as he followed Kiba. “You guys comin’?”

“I have important business to attend to back at the Hyuga residence.” Just the fact that Neji doesn’t even call it home rubbed the Nara the wrong way.

“Oh okay, Shikamaru?” Naruto tried.

“I’m taking a nap.” The shadow-wielder tucked his hands in his pockets and rolled his shoulders. In all honesty his water heater was broken so he’d kill to go to the bath house for a warm rinse to ease the joints, but the Hyuga Residence was on the way to his house and part of him wanted to speak to Neji again just to get a better idea of everything.

“Suit yourselves. Hey, Shikamaru. Isn’t your water heater broken?” Kiba asked.

How did he… “Uh, yeah.”

Everyone looked to him. He shrugged nonchalantly. “Cold showers are nice.” He lied.

“Okay psychopath.” Kiba said before walking off towards the bathing quarters with Naruto, leaving the atmosphere to grow tense between the two males that remained.

Shikamaru wanted to ask if he could walk with Neji, but he never worked up the nerve. Their steps just began to fall into sync as they made their way through the village. Neji maintained Shikamaru’s pace and vice versa. The Nara started to get the feeling that it was a bad idea to decline the bath house offer because he didn’t even know how to start speaking to the guy.

“I have a stop to make before I go back.” Neji informed him.

So he did feel as though they were walking together rather than just in the same direction coincidentally.

“Where?” Shikamaru asked, hands folded behind his head.

“Where I stay in order to drop off my belongings from the trip.”

Shikamaru nodded. He had forgotten that the Main and Side branches resided in different areas apart from each other. Shikamaru looked to the sky as the silence filled back in. Was he even inviting the Nara to come with or was he simply saying something so Shikamaru wouldn’t be surprised when the Hyuga did leave his side? Was he inadvertently telling him to leave him alone?

“You can come if you wish unless you are fatigued.” Neji spoke. An indirect thank you.

He was tired, very tired but, “I’ll tag along, why not?” The Nara looked to Neji who walked with his head tilted towards the earth. His eyes were closed as they often were. Shikamaru wondered if the male used the byakugan to see where he’s going whenever he does that. “How do you do that?”

Neji looked to his companion. “Do what?”

“The thing where you close your eyes and know where you’re going.”

Neji blinked. “I can feel where things are in a way that I cannot explain.”

“I mean yeah, but…” He had nothing. It was just that plain and simple. “Hm.” He left it there. He felt Neji look away from him.

In the distance were two main branch Hyuga walking toward where the shinobi had been coming from. Upon passing them by, Neji closed his eyes and bowed his head. The two Hyuga did not do so little as even acknowledge the boy’s presence. Shikamaru averted his eyes in discomfort. Suddenly Neji turned off into a market. Shikamaru wondered if the interaction had made the Hyuga feel some type of way. The turn was so sudden. He wasn’t sure if Neji wanted to be followed. Shikamaru watched Neji through the store window. Neji met his eyes as if waiting for the Nara to move.

Shikamaru met his walking partner in the produce section where Neji appeared to be searching for something very particular.

“You do not have to follow me if you have something you must attend to.” Neji said.

“Do you want me to go?” Shikamaru honestly asked at this point. If he were being completely honest with himself, he wasn’t sure of why he was still here either.

“Only if you must.” Neji said without looking to the shadow-nin.

He said must. Shikamaru got the feeling that Neji did not want him to leave. Perhaps he feared Shikamaru would alert someone else of the curse mark situation which did not add up if he were on his way to get it resealed anyway. Maybe he was scared of something, but that didn’t seem exactly correct either. He didn’t know the reason behind Neji’s sudden invitation, but the male was not known for doing things without reason to back it up.

“I think I’ll hang out for a little bit longer. I don’t really feel like going home to fill out some half ass report.” Upon there being no response, Shikamaru looked to Neji who appeared to be processing his words. Maybe it was the improper diction. He knew the guy had a pretty pristine mouth but surely, he’s heard ‘half-ass’ before.

Neji finally nodded, shielding his eyes behind his lids once again.

Shikamaru began to pick up on it being some sort of defense mechanism the deeper he looked into it.

Shikamaru followed Neji around the store. He found the Hyuga to be picking rather simple things up such as raw fruits and vegetables, soybeans, bean sprouts, things along those lines. Shikamaru remembered his mother asking him to pick up seaweed upon his return for some sort of celebratory dinner. He had no idea what made this particular mission so special, but he guessed that maybe the woman just wanted to cook her heart out. It eases her anxiety. He picked it up as the two made their way down yet another aisle. Approaching the windows, he realized how long they had been in the small shop. It was sundown. “Woah it’s late.”

Neji heard him loud and clear and walked to the register to be rung up. Of course, Shikamaru didn’t mean it like that, he was just thinking out loud which is something he tended to do when he was fatigued out of his mind. He followed Neji’s trademark; he caught a glimpse of a long mane and followed it to the cashier. “Hey, I didn’t mean…” Shikamaru froze when he saw Neji a couple registers down. He squinted his eyes and looked in front of him and found a confused woman who seemed to be on guard.

“What do you want from me?” She asked.

“What? Oh, no! No, nothing, I’m sorry!” Shikamaru raised his hand up as he backed off. The woman was terrified and, honestly, he didn’t blame her. There are plenty of crooked shinobi who only wanted the power to do corrupt things to those beneath them and the woman knew that. The sun being borderline beneath the Earth’s horizon didn’t help either. He could only imagine how many miles per hour her heart was going upon turning around to a strange man towering over her. The height difference should have been enough to tell the Nara that he had the wrong person. If anything, Shikamaru’s own pulse had hasted as he met back up with Neji.

“Jeez.” Shikamaru rubbed his face. The way the woman reacted had to be the result of some past trauma, he felt bad really. Neji did not spare him a glance but took the seaweed from the Nara’s hand and added it to his own purchases. “Hey, wait, you don’t have to… okay thanks.” He had forgotten that he gave the last of his cash to Ichiro in the last village. “Thanks.”

“You said thank you twice.” Neji pointed out.

“I’m just a really thankful guy.” The last part came out as a yawn.

“Go home, Shikamaru.” Neji ordered suddenly.

“Mh… nah. I’ll walk you to your place then go home. Trust me, I’m fine. I go home now, I’ll go to sleep. I walk with you, hopefully I’ll wake up enough to at least write our names in the report. After all, it is late.” Shikamaru rationalized.

“I can handle it myself, thank you.” Neji declined.

“Okay what if I told you it’s just what I want to do? Out of my own free will, I just want to walk with you.” Another thing Shikamaru was when low on energy was very straight forward. “I know you don’t need protection, man you could beat my ass right now if you really just wanted to. I don’t feel obligated to anything. Just like taking strolls.”

Neji said nothing as he bagged his items and handed the seaweed to the Nara. He turned to face Shikamaru and stared at him for some time. He seemed to be evaluating the Nara’s true intentions as if what was said was all a lie. It was a little offensive.

Shikamaru slowly blinked, grew uncomfortable then averted his eyes for a quick second and met pale, opalescent ones again. As expected, Neji shut his own. “Let’s go.” The Hyuga said quietly.

They exited the market doors. The LED lighting of the store’s signs and advertisements faded as they gained distance. They crossed over the bridge that led to the residential part of the village which had significantly less nightly activity.

“You still getting resealed tonight? It seems kinda late, but I don’t know how your clan runs.” Shikamaru admitted.

“No, you are right. It is late. I did not intend on being in the store for that long, I apologize.” Neji said.

“Don’t. There’s no reason to. I actually needed stuff too.” The Nara said.

“Seaweed.” Neji reminded.

“Yeah well it took time to pick out the best seaweed out of all of the choices they had.”

Neji crossed his arms. “Hm.” He accepted the answer knowing it was completely made up. “Well I suppose I will inform Lord Hiashi of the incident tomorrow morning”

“Whatever works for you.” Shikamaru found himself saying for no reason at all. Whatever works for you. Neji seemed to hang on those words for a minute or three. It had fallen silent all except for the breeze that whipped through the village’s structures. Suddenly the Hyuga turned toward Shikamaru and bowed.

The Nara didn’t know what to do with it. He turned his head and narrowed his eyes. “Okay what?”

“Thank you for everything.” Neji spoke to the gravel beneath them.

Shikamaru bowed as well. “Thank you for buying my seaweed.”

Neji looked to him confused as Shikamaru expected. Shikamaru caught Neji’s eyes. “Now stop acting like that. You would’ve done it for me.” They younger said.

“No, I would not have.” Neji plainly put.

That struck Shikamaru. By now, he had assumed they were talking about the lab incident. The male would have let him die helplessly? Shikamaru slowly stood from his bow and looked away from Neji. The elder had admitted it without feeling.

“I would not have known what to do. Nothing I would have tried would have worked. You would have died, Shikamaru.” Neji continued.

Oh. he just didn’t know how to resurrect a victim of an overdosage. That makes sense.

“Oh. Well I could teach you stuff. Ought to come in handy on missions who knows?” Shikamaru shrugged.

“You shrug a lot.” Neji pointed out.

“You shield your eyes a lot.” Shikamaru shot back.

Neji unintentionally closed his eyes right on cue.

“Gods, you’re doing it now.”

“It is a habit.” Neji eased his eyes back open.

“Okay well…” The two had made it to the side branch grounds sooner than anticipated and they both stood and faced one another. “…the shoulder thing is a habit too. Keeps people from taking me seriously. I could be threatening a killer and all of a sudden,” Shikamaru rose his shoulders as a demonstration.

Neji closed his eyes after the joke had been made and simply shook his head.

Shikamaru’s mildly amused expression dropped slightly. “Open your eyes,” he finally said.

“Excuse me?” Neji raised an eyebrow.

“Open them. Open your eyes.”

Neji did as told and looked directly into Shikamaru’s own. The Nara’s face was now suddenly stone cold and unmoving. His dark eyes bored into Neji’s own, giving the Hyuga the impression that he had angered the shadow-weilder.

Shikamaru abruptly perked up, “So like I was saying,” he began to repeat the entire joke, but before he could, Neji’s expression changed into that of an adult watching a child doing something juvenile.

Shikamaru paused because he was not looking to earn such a response. Truly, he was worn and nothing he was doing was being calculated beforehand. “…What?”

Neji shook his head and sighed. His typical expression returned. “Good night Shikamaru. Thank you again for…” his eyes dropped to the ground, searching for the best way to say it.

“Yeah,” Shikamaru understood. “Yeah, I got you. See you then.”

Neji tilted his head in agreement, his eyes were now blocked off all over again. He turned to enter the residence and disappeared into the dark.

Shikamaru watched him the whole way as the male’s pale silhouette began to fade.

It was like that of a ghost.


	13. Chapter 13

Shikamaru stood under the porch light on the house’s doorstep. He craned his neck back and exhaled. He knew he had returned later than the time he had told his mother. It ought to have sent her anxiety into something so chaotic, Shikamaru didn’t even want to go in. He took a sharp breath in through his nose and turned the doorknob as he held it in. There, just on the other side, he saw his mother leaning against the hall wall with a ladle in her hand. Her arms were crossed, and her hand supported the weight of her head. Her eyes were wide with endless possibilities racing through her head. Possibilities of her son’s where-abouts and what could have gone wrong. She was clearly overwhelmed. Shikamaru sensed that nothing had been cooking while he was gone. It must have been too much for her. He stood guiltily in the doorway, the moon rays from behind him alerted his mother of his presence. She saw Shikamaru’s shadow stretching across the wooden planked floors and looked towards the door widening her eyes more than Shikamaru knew was even possible for her at that point. It hit him hard. He swallowed and held the small bag of seaweed up.

“I’m sorry, ma. I got caught up.” He began to explain. He shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. She said nothing. He felt uneasy. Shikamaru looked past his mother and down the hall. He saw his father emerge from a room and pause. The man knew what was in store for Shikamaru. They both shared an understanding before breaking eye contact. The younger Nara could not bring himself to look his mother in the eyes. He knew better than to keep his mother waiting for five minutes, let alone hours. His eyes were glued to the floor between him and his mother. He lowered the bag since it obviously no longer had any value in this situation.

“Where were you?” Her voice was almost a whisper against the sirens blaring in Shikamaru’s head.

“The grocery store.” He had to be honest at that point. He wished he had stopped by other places to make his absence more reasonable. She knew her son. She knew that Shikamaru never wanted anything to do with grocery duty. He would have been in and out especially because he was only to pick up one item. Shikamaru hated lying with all of his being. He gravitated more towards over exaggerating to fill in holes of a story rather than fabricating it completely but there was nothing to work with here. He was simply at the grocery store with Neji for who knows how long, then he walked the Hyuga home which had taken longer than he expected. After going through the entirety of his night, he decided to add it to his report to his mother. He inhaled and sighed through his nose. He never raised his eyes from the floor. “…and I walked a teammate home. He got injured. We took our time getting to his place.” It was all true, but he knew that Neji’s concussion was not the reason for their slow pace. The two were taking their time because they wanted to. Neither of them was in a rush to get to their undesired destinations, however in the end the two did take their time which was the truth, but he did not have to add everything in unless asked.

“You could have let me know.” Her tone was that of a caring and nurturing mother. A normal mother, Shikamaru thought, but he didn’t buy it.

He took his time choosing his next words. “How?”

“How?” She repeated. Her eyes drifted from her son’s worn face to the rest of him. She lost herself in her own mind. She did it whenever she was trying to grasp at anything that would keep her from being wrong in a discussion.

“Yoshino,” Shikaku spoke up from the depths of the house, “can you let the boy in at least? He hasn’t even gotten the chance to get through the door.”

“Shut up!” She pivoted her body enough to lash out at the man who was only trying to help the situation. She turned back to her son, “You aren’t leaving this house until I tell you to.” She spoke through gritted teeth; it was the only thing keeping her spit from reaching Shikamaru’s face. “Look at me!” She demanded. Her face was now inches away from Shikamaru’s. He slowly lowered his head to look his mother in the eye. She lowered her voice, “I never wanted you in this ninja business from the beginning, you know that but had to nerve to show up hours late like nothing happened, like nothing was wrong!” She shouted.

Shikamaru rolled his head to the side and closed his eyes to avoid watching his mother in this state.

“Look at me!” She ordered.

He looked to her with the best mask he could work up in the moment. He wanted nothing more than to walk out of that house. His mother is crazy, and he’s known that for years. However, it had grown more tiresome than ever recently. He talked to his father about getting her help only to be told that his mother wouldn’t like that. This wasn’t just about her.

“You aren’t leaving…” She first whispered, “Anymore!” Her volume suddenly skyrocketed, grating Shikamaru’s ear drums. He hated unnecessarily loud noises, especially if they were directed at him. His shoulders shot up in a reflexive defense of his ears. What did she just say?

“What?” The younger Nara asked. He was used to her saying unimaginable things but this? He looked to the shadows only to find that Shikaku had long left the scene, not much to Shikamaru’s surprise. He rolled his eyes to his father’s predictable behavior.

“What are you rolling your eyes for?! I am your mother,” She pulled Shikamaru in by the arm harshly, enough to pull it out of his socket if he hadn’t caught it. He didn’t even try to explain how the eye roll was meant for his father because that would only make matters worse for him. She went behind Shikamaru and shoved against his back until he was well into the house.

“Okay, okay, damn it!” He finally turned around and swatted his mother’s hands away. She looked to him in terror. Now she was going to play victim. Shikamaru dropped the grocery bag and shot for his room before she got the chance. He should’ve just played injured and spent the night at the hospital, similar to what he did as a kid. He would make up some reason to stay at Choji’s. It was always bull shit, but it got him out of this mess of a household. He slumped against the side of his bed and drew his knees up. He sighed and dropped his arms to the floor. Crazy. He picked up on dialogue at the front door.

“Oh, you’re leaving?” His mother.

“Yeah, there’s stuff I need to take care of.” His father. “Classified,” Shikaku half explained. Bull shit. He just wanted out just like Shikamaru, which the boy could understand. Still, he resented how his father could simply walk out whenever he wished. 

Before Yoshino could respond, the door shut, and it was silent. At least, until a knock sounded on Shikamaru’s door. Gods, what now?

“Shikamaru?” Her voice was soft as if she had not just screamed her head off moments ago. The Nara didn’t respond. He didn’t want to see or hear her. He heard faint sniffling. “What am I doing wrong? Come on, Shikamaru. Talk to me. Please? I’m sorry. I was being silly.” She calmed herself down almost immediately. The boy could almost see his mother on the other side nervously folding her apron through her fingers. He cursed himself and stood to open the door. He looked down to her. Yoshino’s eyes softened into a warm smile. She searched his face. “Hi, Honey.” She touched his shoulder. A touch that should be comforting from a mother, but only tensed the Nara up. Still, he mustered up a faint smile. “I didn’t hurt you too badly did I?” She asked jokingly.

“Your shoving?” He shook his head to the preposterous idea and played fine as he always did. It’s what his father told him; If they didn’t act like they’ve moved on, then it would drag her back through the whole thing over again.

“I’m sorry, Shikamaru. I just,” She continued rubbing his shoulder, “I don’t know, I’m crazy.” She smiled the whole thing off. He knew better than to agree to that.

“No, you were just worried. I shouldn’t have taken that long.” He became the one trying to comfort the other. It always went like this.

“Okay, well, you look tired, so I’ll let you rest, okay?” She grabbed both of his arms and leaned up to plant a kiss on his cheek. She stared up at her son with the smile still plastered across her conflicted face. She hummed to herself before walking off. Shikamaru paused in the door. This had to end. He felt that it would become dangerous one day. He rubbed his face and closed the door then walked over to his bed and lied down. He intertwined his fingers and placed his hands underneath his head as he stared to the ceiling. He closed his eyes; it was so dark that keeping them open served no purpose. At least Tsunade won’t need him for a while. Even if house arrest meant staying with his crazy mother, he wouldn’t have a task in the world. He shook off the entire encounter and began to let missed sleep take him from his tiresome situation.


	14. Chapter 14

“Hey, where are they?” Shikamaru pushed his way through the forest’s shrubbery as he approached Neji who had been scouting out for any potential invasions of their operation. Shikamaru sure as hell didn’t expect another threat to pop up the very next day, but here he was in the back yard of some rich family who claimed to be getting stalked by someone they didn’t even know. Considering the fact that they were the most lucrative family in their village, the suspicion wasn’t exactly ludicrous, but the team had yet to find anything in the acres and acres of the family’s terrain.

“Lee is east, TenTen is south east, Choji is covering further west and Ino is watching south west. Considering how we have yet to find anything…” Neji began.

“Either the family is paranoid, or these guys are more skilled than we thought. Yeah, I’ll bet on the second option.” Shikamaru sat down unexpectedly, gaining Neji’s attention.

“What are you doing?” Neji asked.

“Thinking.” The Nara crossed his legs and placed his hands together, closing his eyes to bring all of his thoughts together. The Hyuga went back to surveillance duty and let the Nara do what he does best: figuring everything out with little to no clues.

“How long did they say they felt eyes on them?” Shikamaru asked.

“Approximately two weeks.” Neji answered.

“How often?”

“All day, every day. According to the mother, the daughter was out playing one day and saw someone in the bushes towards the back of the house.”

“Right off the back of the house.”

“Yes, where the backyard stopped, and the forest begins.”

“Which would be north.” Shikamaru noted.

“Correct, but you emphasized how we were to avoid the north.” Neji reminded.

“Only because the area was infested poisonous plants.” Shikamaru planted each hand on a knee. The stalker had to know about the plants, they had to. “Shit.” Shikamaru suddenly cursed. “I’m going north.” He informed as he stood from the dirt.

“What?” Neji deactivated his byakugan and turned towards the younger male.

“I’ll be back,” Shikamaru said over his shoulder, “Just might be a little redder by the face,” he mumbled before taking off to the trees. He would have thought said creep would have been smarter than this. As soon as the team received all of the details, Shikamaru began to work out every strategy and path the man would have gone through only to later realize the guy had no plan at all. The Nara tried to keep to the trees to lower the risk of a painful rash or gash from the killer plants below. With a backyard like this, anyone would have thought to put a gate up especially if they have a kid. He scanned the area as he flew from branch to branch until he found what he was looking for lying in a large bunch of flowery irritants. The poor fool. Shikamaru dropped to where he could view the body without joining its fate.

“Damn.” He tapped the speaker in his ear. “Hey, I think I found…”

Something whisped past his face. It was a close cut, but it missed him because whatever stopped it was another kunai that had thrown it off its original trajectory. Shikamaru’s eyes shot open and he whipped his head around on high alert. Suddenly, Neji appeared in front of him, stopping a man at an intense speed. The shadow-nin stood dumbfounded.

“Move!” Neji exclaimed.

Shikamaru hopped up into a tree to avoid a crossfire so he could get a better idea of the situation. The body. Shikamaru looked back to the poisonous lilies. It was gone. He looked back to the fight below him. The attacker had the same shoes that stuck out of the shrubbery when he first found the body lying unresponsive. Had the man been there at all? Was it a decoy? He tried to follow the fight with his eyes, but blows were being delivered quicker than regular eyes could follow. Whoever the attacker was, he was keeping up with Neji. Maybe Neji was letting the opponent think that so they get comfortable allowing Neji to surprise him with a sudden shift in pace. Of course, Shikamaru was correct and with a lunge forward, Neji delivered his final blows at the speed of sound, knocking the man on his back. It always blew Shikamaru’s mind how swift the Hyuga clan’s technique was.

Neji kept his eyes on the perpetrator, “You can come down, Shikamaru.”

Shikamaru knew Neji would never belittle anyone, but what Neji said made the Nara feel like a child in need of protection. He met Neji on the field, like the Hyuga, Shikamaru kept his eyes on the man who now truly lie unconscious. “Okay.” The Nara said as he searched the man’s limp body. “So, what do we do n…” Shikamaru’s words came to a halt at the sight of Neji. “No,” he breathed out.

Neji looked to him, clueless. “What is it?”

Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose. “Look, thanks for saving my life, but you got into the bushes, didn’t you?”

“There was no other way to evade his attack.” Neji explained.

“Of course, there wasn’t. Okay, I can make an ointment with some of the stuff around here. Wherever there are plants like that,” he pointed to Neji’s reddening cheeks and neck, “there tends to be others nearby that can reverse it. There’s a long environmental explanation for it but…” he stared to the reddish, pinkish pigment of his teammate, “…okay, I’ll get on it.” He walked around the circumference in the opening, gathering various forms of plant life. “Hey, you… you got any water?” Shikamaru grunted as he pulled things up from the roots. He waited for an answer until he heard nothing but a gasp and then remembered, “Oh, yeah, you won’t be able to speak for some time. Depends on how much of this stuff you touched.” He looked to Neji across the field. The Hyuga then turned to face a large mass of shrubbery. “Mh.” Shikamaru hummed. “Okay, we’re going old school then.” He scouted the area for rocks. After spotting two, hand sized pebbles, he sat down and spread out the different plant forms he had gathered. “Come on.” He motioned for Neji to come over.

“Alright I’m gonna smash these leaves and stuff up to get all the good stuff out of it,” he explained.

Neji folded his legs underneath him, lowering himself to Shikamaru’s level. He handed the Nara a small container of water.

“Oh good, this should be significantly easier.” He placed the leaves and eccentric flowers on top of one another across the larger, flatter stone and used the other to smash the vegetation up. “Instead of rubbing bits of thick leaf against your neck and hoping for the best, you can just smother it on like a lotion or something.” Neji watched Shikamaru diligently, taking in every movement. The task was interesting to him and was thought to come in handy later down the line. The Nara added a bit of water to the concoction turning it into a thick, pale green, liquid substance. “Might feel silly slapping it across yourself but it’s better than letting the irritating tingling and itching come in hours from now, trust me I know from experience.” He moved out of the way so the elder could reach the antidote. Neji lifted the stone and drug his fingers through it and looked to Shikamaru who only stared right back at him. A drop fell from his finger on to his white robes. He then wasted no time in applying the solution to his irritated skin.

“That should keep the inflammation from happening. Your voice, I’m guessing, should be back by tomorrow afternoon, latest.”

Neji mouthed the words ‘thank you’.

Shikamaru shrugged, “You would’ve done the same for me.”

Neji furrowed his brows.

“Wait, you didn’t know how to make the medicine so you would have let me swell up, right?” Shikamaru said after deadpanning.

Neji nodded.

“Neji, at this point I just don’t think you understand how the saying works.”

They heard rustling feet away from them, Neji sprang into action and subdued the man. His eyes shot open and he looked directly at Shikamaru.

“What?” Shikamaru asked, closing in on the criminal with a kunai in hand. Once he arrived at Neji’s side he realized the man had removed his mask in order to breath. He had gotten into some of the irritant plants himself during the melee. This perpetrator was the same one they arrested the night before. Man, did they need to tighten security.


	15. Chapter 15

Tsunade’s right eye gave in to her irritation and began to twitch. The very sight of the convict in her guards’ arms for the second consecutive day heated her to great temperatures.

“Jail him and jail him for good you imbeciles!” She shouted. The men, now doubled in amount, escorted the man away once again and hopefully for good.

“Thank you once again. I’m sure after this slip up, the police force won’t let it happen again. How they let the guy slip past all of them is beyond me. I told them to drain his chakra reserves.” She sighed. “The new guy is a bit too merciful though; I’ll have to have a word with him. Great work to all of you, now take a load off.”

 _‘Yeah, that’s what she said last time’_ Shikamaru thought.

With that she dismissed the group of shinobi allowing the questioning and worrying to commence.

“Does it hurt, Neji?” TenTen asked, studying the male’s red hued neck.

“It looks painful.” Lee commented.

“Is it stiff. Can you move your neck normally?” Ino questioned.

“No and no,” Shikamaru answered for him capturing everyone’s eyes. “It looks worse than it feels. The most he feels right now would be a small itch in his throat, I made a quick ointment so it wouldn’t swell. He should be talking by tomorrow so whatever you ask him will not be answered any time soon. Trust me.”

“Okay, well bathhouse then food?” TenTen proposed. “Maybe a cup of warm tea will make you feel better.”

Shikamaru looked to Neji who refrained from responding purposely. The Nara knew the male was still capable of nodding and shaking his head, but his unresponsiveness was clearly purposeful.

“Great idea!” Choji perked up.

“Yeah!” Lee tagged along.

“I could go for some warm water on my joints, too.” Ino chimed in.

“I’ll see you guys later.” Shikamaru said, adding in a yawn for good measure.

Neji then shook his head, declining TenTen’s offer.

“You sure?” Choji asked.

“Yeah, I’m beat. Mom.” The Nara said. Choji knew exactly what that meant and left the matter alone.

“Okay, rest easy, Shikamaru. I’ll see you around.” The boy took off with the others, once again the Nara and the Hyuga were left to decipher each other’s thoughts. Shikamaru glanced to the side to see Neji’s eyes were shut, not much to his surprise. What surprised him was when the Hyuga came closer to him and tilted his head in Shikamaru’s direction. It was a sign of gratitude.

“No problem. Now…” It had crossed the Nara’s mind just once at random early that morning, but, “…did you get it done? You all set now?” Shikamaru regretted his choice of words, but he figured Neji was bright enough to know that the shadow-nin was nowhere near fond of the idea of the curse mark.

Neji shook his head.

That surprised the younger male as well. He figured it was unlike Neji to be out of line for too long if at all. “What? Why?” _Neji can’t speak_ he remembered. “Never mind, sorry.” 

They strolled through the Hokage mansion halls after reporting back in. Shikamaru leaned his head back against his intertwined fingers. Neji’s arms remained at his sides, his gaze shielded as usual. Shikamaru knew that was an insensitive question to raise. He regretted it. It almost sounded like he wanted Neji to be resealed which he didn’t. Shikamaru closed his eyes and clenched his teeth.

“Sorry,” he found himself repeating. He looked around to see if there were any specific people he should be worried about overhearing his words.

Neji shook his head, expressing that there was no need for the apology. His pale eyes eased their way back into the world and he looked to the carpet. He stopped walking. Shikamaru stopped and looked back at his conflicted walking partner. He lowered his hands to his sides as he watched Neji. The Hyuga looked like he wanted to say something.

“Here,” Shikamaru directed Neji towards a room with a chalk board, used for directing formations used on missions. It was unoccupied so he walked in and handed Neji the chalk and held his hand out towards the green, dusty surface.

At first, it looked as if the Hyuga didn’t like the idea of the whole thing but then decided the small use shouldn’t hurt. He approached the large board. It was an older one that had two sides and could turn like a water mill if the other side were needed right at that moment.

As Neji wrote, Shikamaru roamed the room, studying the objects that took up the space. He walked towards the opposite side of the chalk board and began erasing it out of having nothing else to do. He waited for Neji to get through with whatever it was he was writing. Eventually, it seemed like minutes were passing by. Suddenly, the board flipped and Neji’s message appeared on Shikamaru’s side of the room. Of course, it was upside down, not that it was a problem for the Nara, but it confused him. Neji could have just peered around the board and let Shikamaru know he was done. He just shrugged it off and began to read. As he did so, he heard footsteps approaching the room. That’s why the Hyuga spun it, he saw them coming from a mile away, of course he wouldn’t want anyone seeing what he was writing especially in the situation he was in now.

The message read, “I am not fully aware of the reason behind my actions. I am terribly irresponsible for letting it go on for this long. I should have gone to Lord Hiashi the minute I found out. It is as if I am entertaining a childish thought that I can exist in this state when I know that it is more than illegal. It is dishonorable. I plan on addressing it tonight when he comes back from a meeting.”

Okay.

Shikamaru erased the whole thing and began to write a message of his own, baffling Neji on the other side, yet the Hyuga did not come around to find out what the Nara was doing so they both must have had the same idea.

Shikamaru flipped it.

“Will it hurt?” It read. Upside down, of course.

Neji erased the Nara’s words and began to trace the chalk against the rough surface. Shikamaru stared at the empty side of the board as if he could see Neji on the other side writing whatever it was he wanted to tell him. The board flipped.

“Possibly. I have only ever been sealed, never resealed. However, it does not matter. It must be done.”

Shikamaru picks up on the affirmative tone in Neji’s voice. Right off, he can tell that Neji is still reluctant somewhere. He doesn’t need to hear people in order to read them. Shikamaru took a deep breath, feeling for Neji’s inability to find common ground within himself. He erased Neji’s writing and held the small piece of chalk up against the board. He closed his eyes and thought of what to say next. He didn’t want to sound ignorant; he didn’t want to seem oblivious; he didn’t want to come off as insensitive. Then, slowly, he began to write. He silently appreciated Neji’s patience because it had taken him too long to decide on and write the few words he was about to give to the male on the other side. He completed the sentence with a final stroke of the nearly depleted chalk and spun the board slowly.

“Want to do something until he gets back?”

Shikamaru waited in the shadows of the tall, vertical object in front of him. He couldn’t exactly say why, but he felt unsure of himself now, almost ridiculous. The speed at which Neji began to reply only made him feel even more out of position. Before he knew it, the swivels on the chalk board began to squeak as they turned.

“Like what?” It read.


	16. Chapter 16

A part of Shikamaru was surprised the Hyuga had agreed to spend time with him without any official reason at all. He never seemed like the type of guy to do anything leisurely, then again, maybe Neji will be the first person that Shikamaru could never read.

They walked through the residential parts of the village in a silence that was far from tense or awkward. They simply walked, for both shinobi had many things occupying their trains of thought. Shikamaru kept his hands in his pockets and his attention fixed on the different aspects of their surroundings. He looked from lawn plants to wind chimes to neighborhood cats and dogs. He listened to the birds’ chirping echo through the surfaces of the densely structured neighborhood. The two eventually approached an underpass of a small bridge. It casted a shadow that gave them a break from the sun’s constant beating. Shikamaru appreciated it, so he paused in his tracks. He closed his eyes, leaned his head back and dropped his shoulders. He let out a long sigh of relief at the cooler sensation the shade bestowed upon him. He felt Neji stop at his side. The Nara reopened his eyes and looked to the elder who watched Shikamaru with crossed arms. Neji studied him for anything that may have been amiss.

“I’m good. It’s just hot. Don’t you feel that?” Shikamaru asked as he began to remove his vest.

Neji nodded once after taking the heat into consideration for the first time since they had begun their walk.

“Part of me wishes it was socially acceptable to walk around with nothing on because this is… something.” Shikamaru said as he wiped his forehead. He just knew Neji had to be baking with that heavy cloak of hair down his back, yet he saw not even the smallest drop of sweat on the man. “You don’t sweat?” It mildly alarmed the Nara.

Neji looked as if he were actually trying to recall the last time he did.

The guy doesn’t even sweat. Okay.

“Nevermind, it’s not important. It’s just…” He looked to all the places of Neji that should have been drenched, “different,” He finished.

Neji stepped up to him and pointed his head over to a small building a fair distance away from where they stood. It was beyond the homes that surrounded them, on the edge of where the residential district stopped. Shikamaru squinted in an attempt to see whatever it was Neji was trying to point out. “Neji, I can’t see that far.”

Neji searched for ways to get his point across. He found a shopping bag where the bridge began. He walked over to pick it up and show it to the Nara.

“You want to go shopping?” No, wait. “Oh, that’s a convenience store down there?” He finally pieced together. “We should’ve gotten some paper or something for you to write on.” It would be a hell of a lot better than the guy having to pick up some trash to relay a message.

Neji raised the bag again.

“Yeah they should have little notebooks or something. Is that what you want from there? Paper?”

Neji tilted his head to admit that it was true but not the exact reason he wanted to go. He leaned his head toward the Nara and looked toward his sweat stained shirt.

“Oh, to cool off.” He’s never felt so slow. 

Once they reached the shop, Shikamaru felt he was mere seconds away from dying of dehydration. As soon as he entered, he paused and let the cool air brush across his face. Upon returning to reality, he saw Neji at the counter ordering a water bottle from the man behind it. Shikamaru counted. He owed the guy even more money, great.

“Seaweed, water bottle.” He said from behind.

Neji turned to him and shook his head.

“Well if I don’t pay it back, it’ll bother me.” Shikamaru reached into his pockets and counted the coins with his fingers.

“Hey, guys! How’s it going?”

They both turned to see Izumo and Kotetsu standing behind them in line. Shikamaru deadpanned. The two were supposed to be watching everyone who entered and left the village. No wonder why that convict escaped twice. “Aren’t you guys supposed to be up front?” Shikamaru asked as nicely as possible, halting his search for change.

“Yeah, about that… the Hokage is giving us a break from the position.” Kotetsu beamed.

What that meant was she’s trying someone else in their position in hopes of security improving around the place. Shikamaru just wasn’t sure if the two recognized it.

“It’s nice being able to move around the village versus sitting in that old booth all day, you know?” Kotetsu said.

Shikamaru could imagine. In all fairness, he would have fallen asleep and let countless criminals in and out as they pleased. “Yeah.” He agreed plainly.

“So, what brings you two together? I always see you with Choji. And you…” Izumo began but paused as soon as he looked to Neji. “Well…”

“You’re typically on your own.” Kotetsu finished.

Neji closed his eyes.

Oh, boy.

“Yeah, I don’t know. He’s cool I guess,” Shikamaru answered.

Both men looked from the Nara to his company and back to the Nara again.

The hell is that about?

“Okay well cool, don’t be strangers.” Kotetsu took a casual tone as he stepped up in line to pay for a load of chips and soft beverages. Izumo sighed heavily as if something came down on him.

“You need to stop eating like this ‘Tetsu.” The brunette warned.

The Nara also picked up on the nickname.

“You worry too much. You have your snacks at the house, and I have mine. As always, I’ll keep mine on my side of the cabinet, and you’ll keep your little healthy corner.”

The house. They live together.

Each scenario he’s witnessed of the two flashed through him. The touches he’s seen them share. The excessive pats on the back, the leaning on one another, the obvious tension, the strange periods of abstaining from physical contact were possibly the result of them speaking of keeping the deal under wraps for good. They’d eventually go right back to the excessive physical exchanges, though. It all added up. Shikamaru could see it all and naturally, everything fell into place. They were hiding. Though he knew he didn’t have much to go off of, his hunches were usually correct.

The pair looked to the Nara. Kotetsu tensed up as he finished bagging the items. Izumo avoided the boys’ eyes. Shikamaru was known for putting two and two together and they had made it painfully obvious, to a genius at least.

“Don’t!” Kotetsu lowered his voice, “say anything. Okay?” He hissed.

Shikamaru wasn’t planning on frolicking through the village and telling everyone with ears about their business. He shrugged with a look of nonchalance. Before anything else could be said, the two took their purchases and exited the store.

The Nara put the whole thing to rest and thought back to his original company. He looked to his side to see Neji who still watched the elder pair walk off. The Hyuga looked as if he were studying the men now as Shikamaru had been before.

Neji closed his mouth and looked away from the store windows, then to the Nara to see that he had been staring. He watched the younger male, silently asking what it was he was looking at. Shikamaru shook his head and finally broke the seal on his water bottle. The sun had fallen significantly since the they had begun their outing.

“When does your uncle get back?” He asked, switching the topic.

Neji shook his head.

“How are you going to explain without a voice?” Shikamaru asked. Surely Neji could just take off his headband and show its bareness to the head of the clan, but how would he explain the situation without it seeming like he attempted to wipe himself clean of the curse, ultimately going against his clan’s ways? Would they assume that of him? With Neji’s spiteful past, it was possible. Then what would happen if the full truth came out? Would Neji be punished? Shunned?

It was a matter that was supposed to be pushed down. That was the whole purpose of the walk. Shikamaru realized he shouldn’t have raised it. He kept screwing up.

Neji watched the bamboo ceiling fan that spun over the check-out line. The same ideas must have been going through his head. His arms were crossed, and he leaned back against the windowpane. His eyes closed this time from what seemed to be exhaustion versus defense. Shikamaru had a feeling that Neji wasn’t just finally giving in to the heat. All of this had been on the Hyuga’s subconscious and all he did was stir the pot all over again.

“Hey…” Shikamaru began to try.

Neji rolled his head over to look at the boy through heavy lids. They shared an understood glance; it was a wordless agreement that the subject won’t be brought up again.

Shikamaru watched him empathetically even after the Hyuga looked away. He did feel awful for him, he really did. It was sickening what he was forced to be and do. Neji had finally come to terms with his position in this world and the lab incident reopened a sliver of the Hyuga’s past mindset from years ago. Shikamaru knew the man was trying hard to suppress them, but with a situation as bizarre as this, it had to be corrupting his thinking. He didn’t want the Hyuga to do anything rash. He didn’t want the Hyuga to get in trouble or worse. For the greater good, he wanted Neji to be resealed.


	17. Chapter 17

Shikamaru strolled alone in the night. He had just walked Neji back to the Hyuga residence and started his way back to his own. They never ended up getting a notebook to use for communication not that they needed it anyhow. The entire walk from the minimart had been silent. Shikamaru slightly feared that it was because of his choice of words. Well, it was not as if he would have gotten much of a response anyways given the elder’s condition. He didn’t take the Hyuga as the sensitive type, but then he remembered that there have been multiple instances where he couldn’t read the Hyuga. He couldn’t tell that the elder genuinely wanted Shikamaru by his side. He couldn’t tell when he upset Neji. He couldn’t even pick up on the warning signs that the Hyuga needed serious help before the accident in his father’s laboratory. Even after the fact, nothing about Neji seemed too off. For the first time ever, he felt lost. For the first time ever, he cared about what someone else thought and it was getting to him. He felt as if he was finally losing it like everyone else in this town. He reasoned with himself that there was no reason for him to be overly concerned with anything he did that day. Nothing Shikamaru did stood out from his ordinary behavior and temperament so there was nothing to worry about. Neji had approved of spending time with Shikamaru so the Nara went along with it. It’s not like he hurt the guy or anything, Neji was tough as nails. Shikamaru stopped shortly after passing another light pole. His mind was clouded with unnecessary clutter. It was troublesome.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps from meters away in the direction of which he came. Shikamaru turned to see he had just passed by the Main House residence. Someone had made their way from its gates and down the dirt path in the direction of where the Side Branch resided. It captured Shikamaru’s attention. He rose his head and narrowed his eyes. The man wore his hair long like most of his clanmates, but he was not the head of the clan itself. The man’s hair was partially greyed over and slightly shorter than Hiashi’s. Shikamaru knew the Hyuga clan had three-sixty vision, so the man probably long picked up on his presence by then. Shikamaru turned back toward his original path and thought for a minute about what the man could be doing at this hour heading in that particular direction. The Nara finally decided it had nothing to do with him.

The shadow-nin snuck into his room through an open window he had left ajar purposely just to avoid the same confrontation with his mother. He wasn’t sure why he was risking the heated encounters with the woman all of a sudden. He knew the rules, and he knew the game. Don’t leave the house for too long. There was a fault in his plan, however. He needed his mother to lay her eyes on him so he can be dismissed for good. He rubbed his forehead, cursing himself for not thinking about this beforehand. He was just so eager to leave that morning so he could make it on time for the mission.

He had to face it. He had to face her.

Shikamaru gripped the knob of the door. Gods he didn’t want to do this, not again. He turned it slowly and peeked out. He caught sight of his mother standing at the front door. Her hands were at her sides, thankfully they were empty. He decided coming in through the window would only give away that he attempted to sneak, so he turned around and made for the window.

He was not like himself lately. Having so many faults in his logic was uncharacteristic of him. He stepped up to the front door and stared at it. He now stood in the same position as his mother, only he was on the porch. He decided to just get it over with like ripping off a band aid. He opened the door and faced his mother. He stood awaiting her next chaotic episode. He kept his hands at his sides. They stood face to face for a minute or two. Shikamaru’s eyes wandered and found that his father’s shoes weren’t by the entrance. The man was out again. He wouldn’t doubt it if the man had been out since last night.

“Dad’s gone again, huh?” He broke the silence.

Yoshino clung on to her son as if her whole life depended on him. Shikamaru stood still because he knew things like this could turn into something completely different with a bad tone or a simple meaningless gesture like the way he let out a breath.

She kept her head against his chest and closed her drowsy eyes. She worried too much in Shikamaru’s opinion. Slowly, the shadow-nin held his hand over her back, then cautiously applied it.

She was tired he could tell.

“Let’s get you to bed, alright?” He said quietly watching the empty hall with his own weighted lids.

She allowed herself to be guided down the hall and to her bed. He sat her down and began to leave.

“Wait.” She spoke up. She sat on her bedside and slumped her back. She pointed to her drawer across the room. “Bring me my night gown.” She said.

Shikamaru looked at her then to the drawer. He slowly swayed over to the dresser and opened it.

“You know which one I want, my favorite one. The green, satin one with the flowers. The one your father gave me.”

Shikamaru was done questioning her line of reasoning and state of mind. He just wanted to do whatever this woman wanted so he could go to bed and overthink in silence.

“You’ve grown to be just like your father.” She began.

Where is this dress?

“You two are just alike.” She continued.

Where is the damn dress?

“It’s almost insane how similar you two are. Just like him.” She began to think aloud.

Finally, he saw an emerald green appear from the layers of cloth and pulled it out. He walked over to his mother’s bedside and handed the garment to her. She stared up at the male with a look that told him she was thinking something she wasn’t going to allow past her lips. She appeared to be content. He waited for her to take it from him but got tired of whatever game she was playing so he sat it down on the bed’s comforter. He no longer knew what was expected of him. He gave up, she won.

Yoshino never took her eyes off Shikamaru. She finally grabbed the fabric and held it against her chest, keeping her eyes on him. She smiled.

“Well?” She asked.

“What?” He sighed and shifted his weight to the other foot.

“Let me change, Shikamaru. Get out.” She finally smiled with a snort.

He wasted no time removing himself from the room. The air was getting tighter by the second.

Once he got back to his own space, he closed the door behind him, ripped the hair tie from his head, and rolled on to his mattress. At long last, he began to think in peace and quiet. The whole day replayed through his head. He thought about how Neji had prevented his own fate at the cost of his health. He wondered if the Hyuga could speak now or if his throat was still irritated. He thought back to the chalk board conversation which suddenly seemed so juvenile. It made him smile. The man he saw in the street that night appeared finally. What was he doing? Was it normal for there to be a nightly checkup of the Side Branch members? Maybe that was it. Shikamaru swore to ask that the next time he saw Neji.


	18. Chapter 18

A crowd of people flooded to the center of the village. One man bumped into Shikamaru’s arm in a rush to see what all of the commotion was about. Shikamaru followed behind the man to get an idea for himself. He arrived to where the crowd began and stood on his toes to scope for any clue of what was happening. After leaning side to side for some fruitless moments, he began to shove his way forward. He wanted to know what had stopped the village in their tracks. The further up he got, the more Hyugas he could see populating the crowd until it seemed like the distinct features of a Hyuga were all he could see around him. He finally worked his way to the front and found Neji, but not the way he remembered him.

Neji’s hair was matted, stuck to his bloodied face and tangled in the rope that wrapped tightly around his neck. His bare feet dangled over the ground. He swayed back and forth, the wind being his only source of movement. His eyes were still open and paler than ever. His hands were tied and just as bloody as his cheeks. A symbol of the curse mark had been physically carved into his forehead seemingly by what was a blade.

The sight turned Shikamaru’s stomach inside out. He couldn’t breathe. He fell to his knees and listened to the head of the clan announce the crimes his nephew had committed in his lifetime. They were all small things they called breaking the Hyuga code of conduct, but Shikamaru called being human. He could no longer hear the man. He couldn’t process anything other than Neji’s lifeless body on display and being disrespected beyond anything he would have imagined.

Shikamaru’s ribcage rattled. He couldn’t catch his breath. Nothing was real. He couldn’t process his surroundings.

His eyes shot open. The sensation of his racing heart echoed through him. He sat on the side of his bed and looked to the book on his nightstand. It was his latest distraction from everything and just so happened to contain descriptions of rather heavy gore that he had apparently underestimated. The novel and Neji’s recent constant state of emergency had to be the reason behind the dream that had just shaken him awake. He rose looking to get a glass of water.

Swaying into the kitchen half awake, he found his way to the sink and pulled a cup from the cabinet overhead. He turned to lean his back against the counter and sipped from the glass, catching his mother on the other side of the room. She watched him as she slowly approached. The woman tilted her head slightly and stared directly at Shikamaru. Her attention was fixed on him as she removed the glass from Shikamaru’s hands. She placed her hands on his arms, tracing them all the way up to his shoulders. Shikamaru was confused but he began to feel something in the bottom of his stomach.

She spent some time simply stroking his shoulders and arms and eventually chest without averting her eyes which were glossed over signaling she was not completely in her right mind, not that she ever was especially as of late. Shikamaru grew tense. She pressed herself against him.

“Mom.” He spoke and cleared his throat. Her comments about him being just like his father really sank in at that moment. She was worse off than he had originally thought. It was all due to his father’s prolonged absences. She didn’t know who she was without that man and she was not the one to be neglected, but Shikamaru didn’t know every detail. He didn’t know what drove his mother to this state of dissociation. She wasn’t the average woman, she needed special care and attention. Attention that Shikaku wouldn’t give her. Attention that Shikamaru _couldn’t_ give her.

“Mom,” he spoke again. He felt an odd nervousness; he knew his mother was unpredictable. He placed his hands on her, trying to push her off but she clung tighter.

“Mom!” Shikamaru exclaimed as he pushed the woman back harshly against the kitchen table. They both took in quick, deep breaths. Yoshino stared at him, propping herself up against the table that had rocked with her impact. He stood there, stray hairs draping across his face. His eyes relayed his shock. She closed the distance between them and grabbed his wrist.

“Shikamaru…” She got out before the male ripped his wrist from her grasp. He tried to storm out.

“Shikamaru!” She shouted at the act of rebellion.

“You need help.” He spoke over his shoulder without stopping.

She froze. Clearly his words didn’t make it through to her because she still followed him. She shouted and screamed his name in fury then in desperation. She claimed that he was all she had. She begged for him to promise to not be like his father. She apologized over and over swearing that she wasn’t aware of her actions. Shikamaru made for the door. It was all too much for him to handle this time.

“Shikamaru!” She cried through tears as she clawed and grabbed at the male. He tore her off again and again until he made it to the door, and she put in strength that he didn’t know the woman possessed because of her always playing the fragile victim. She got a hold of his entire right side and he fought her off, pushing her harshly to the hard wood floor in a loud thud. He opened the door to come face to face with his father. He spared no words for the man. He simply forced Shikaku out of his way with a firm shove to the chest that left the elder Nara unbalanced and dependent on the wall to keep to his feet. Shikamaru rushed down the doorsteps refusing to look back. He just needed to get away. The horrid screams from his mother tore through the air, but not even that faltered his steps. He walked straight off of the lawn without stopping to get shoes or retrieve his vest. He was ill-prepared for the sudden outing but more than ready to gain distance from his parents.

He walked straight. He didn’t know exactly where he wanted to go, but he shot straight out. He wanted to clear his mind. He wanted things to be normal. He could still feel her on him. He wanted to be apart from his body.

He lost himself in the events that replayed through his mind so much so that he lost track of how long he had been out and where he was headed. He looked up to see that he had stopped right at the bridge to the vendor part of the village across the canal. He stopped to collect his breath and watch the lights across the water way. Nothing he laid his eyes on made him feel any different. He was stuck. He felt disgust and irritation. He thought about visiting Choji but he was sure his parents would be more than tipped off at the late hour. Then he remembered the Main Branch member that was headed in in the Hyuga’s direction earlier. Shikamaru’s feet began to move. He took for where he last saw his friend. He didn’t exactly know what he planned on doing once he arrived at the front gate of the residence, but he continued anyway. The longer he tried to keep a clear mind, the more noticeable the night chill became; it was almost better to stay distracted by silently criticizing his parents, still, the Nara settled on shivering every now and then. He walked down different avenues and turned corner after corner until the structure was in sight.

He slowed his pace as he closed in on it. He looked at its gate; it was open. Peculiar. He looked in and found the place was ran by minimalists. Everything was very simple. Not even a decorative plant was in place. He never took the time to actually study the area. His attention had always been on Neji when they departed just to share a few words and then separate. Now that the Hyuga did not stand between him and the residence, everything was more noticeable. He didn’t know why he was there. He felt like a lost dog trying to find something only Shikamaru didn’t know what he was looking for.

He picked up on moving shadows and movement. The rooms were lined up, side by side and formed a three-sided box that opened up toward the gate. Shikamaru turned his attention to where he believed he heard the movement. He heard a door bang open and caught it in action. Neji rushed from his living quarters to the open land in front of the establishment. Shikamaru picked up that Neji was being tailed by another person who caught up to the Hyuga rather quickly, pulling the male by the hair. Neji grunted at the unexpected force. The person spoke directly in to Neji’s ear. Shikamaru couldn’t make the words out other than what the man yelled, “Do you hear me?!” Neji’s breaths were uneven and shaky as he tried to calm himself down.

Shikamaru ducked down behind the gate, knowing it barely served him any better, but in darkness as the two in the field were focused on none other than each other, he figured his chances were better.

The man who still had a hold of Neji’s locks turned back to the residence. That was when Shikamaru realized it was the man he saw earlier at that odd time.

Neji snuck in a sweep of the leg, knocking the man down on to the dirt and yanked his hair from the man’s grasp, taking off for the gate where Shikamaru remained hidden. The Nara panicked and moved to a nearby alley way. He saw Neji run past with the elder not too far behind him. For an older man, his speeds were impeccable. Shikamaru crept out of his hiding spot and clung to the corner of the building closest to the scene.

He needed to know if it was something he should intervene with. Every part of him was aching to help the Hyuga, but this could become something larger than just the moment. He knew the clan was bigger than the law. He could make things worse for the both of them if he were to interrupt a Hyuga elder’s task whatever the objective may be. It could be filed as sabotage or down right assault. He knew that they, just like his mother, knew how to flip the script against anyone they could get their claws on. Still, he gritted his teeth from where he stood, useless.

The elder caught up to Neji and pulled him back by the arm, spinning the boy to meet his face. The man kicked Neji’s legs, forcing him to kneel. His hair was gripped once again, and his head was forced back against his will. Neji hissed.

“It seems that you do not understand the situation. It is your fault that you did not report to Hiashi right away. Instead you let it boil over and now you have to answer to it. You do as I say.” The man demanded. “You may think that you do not have to answer to me because of this!” He gentle fisted Neji right in the head where the curse mark once was. “But you are wrong.”

Neji stood unsteadily. The blow was harsh.

“Remember what you are. A Side Branch Hyuga that is prepared to do the bidding of those higher up than yourself. It does not matter what you think, it does not matter how you feel. You serve.”

Neji eyed him in silence.

Shikamaru realized that the younger Hyuga had nothing covering his head. It was exposed only worsening the possible impact taken from the direct hit.

Neji breathed through his nose harshly. The man watched without a hint of sympathy in his cold, grey eyes. Shikamaru’s veins boiled. He was amazed at Neji’s ability to keep cool when facing something like this.

The Nara mentally took back his words when Neji shot out, directly attacking the man, knocking his target to the ground. The elder shot up a gust of air plams past Neji’s face successfully sidetracking him long enough to switch their positions. He grabbed Neji’s arm and swept the boy’s feet out from beneath him. He pinned Neji down with his weight; one hand was wrapped around both of Neji’s wrists while the other held his neck. Neji tried to move any way, trying to escape but the man had begun to cut off the younger’s air ways. He was choking Neji.

Neji struggled and struggled, straining for air until a rock flew into the back of the elder’s head, knocking him unsteady. He bared against the ground until everything realigned, giving Neji enough space to free himself from the man’s grasp. Neji looked around frantically for where the rock had come from. He saw Shikamaru standing under one of the pole lights. They locked eyes.

The Elder grunted and tried to work his way back to using his feet. Immediately Shikamaru began running. Neji was still stuck in his stance unsure of his actions and impulses.

“Run, Neji!” Shikamaru called out to him.

Neji looked to the Nara who had made his way down the street as he stood there numbly. He looked to the elder who was regaining his balance quickly.

“Neji!” Shikamaru shouted again.

The lost male looked back to his friend in the distance and began to move his feet. He was choosing his path, his destiny, and his enemies just by running to the boy at the end of the street. He began to pick up speed. The night air filled his lungs, adrenaline pumped through him. He was terrified but knew what he wanted, only now he got to choose for himself. He arrived at Shikamaru’s side and they studied each other almost as if now not even the Nara knew what they were doing. A slight breeze swept over them, a silent message to keep moving.

Shikamaru nodded and continued to run at the sight of the Hyuga elder gaining speed. Neji looked back and saw the other side branch members watching him from the gate in wonder. He couldn’t explain why, but that was the last image he needed to push him even further. He turned for Shikamaru and followed the Nara. They shot straight for the village entrance, failing to shake the man behind them. The rock to the back of the head slowed the man significantly, but he was still quick. The grand front gate was in sight; they were so close.

“Come on!” Shikamaru shouted over his shoulder. Neji’s own hit to the head had costed him some of his usual swiftness as well. With every other transition from roof to roof, the Hyuga would slightly stumble or misstep. “Come _on_!”

The elder was closing in on Neji. He was inches from being able to grab the male from behind before unexpectedly slipping and falling from the roof that he had tried to land on.

Both of the younger shinobi landed on top of the village wall and looked down to see Izumo and Kotetsu at their booth, looking directly up at them. Kotestu placed an arm around Izumo’s shoulders and waved.

Shikamaru didn’t know what to do. Izumo had saved them with some sort of water-style technique. He just held up a hand and nodded. The shadow-nin turned and faced the outside world with Neji. Neji watched the trees beyond the walls. He was winded just like the Nara.

Shikamaru gripped the elder male’s shoulder and shook it to wake that fighting spirit Neji had shown minutes ago. “Let’s go.” Shikamaru breathed out. With that, he dismounted the wall and landed on the dirt that surrounded their home.

Neji looked back down at the pair who had assisted their escape.

Kotetsu held a still hand into the air. Their figures were heavily darkened by the hour, but Neji could make it out. The small reassurance pushed him to take his final steps from the village wall and land into something uncharted. He met up with Shikamaru who knew the Hyuga would need a second of recollection. They stood side by side and stared into the forestry. Neji breathed in deeply. Nothing they had done just then registered within him. All he knew was they had decided. Now, they had to go and get far away from here and quick.


	19. Chapter 19

They sat on a bed that had been well broken in by various guests before them. They each took up both sides of the mattress facing opposite walls of the room. Neither shinobi faced the other. The moon light shone on Shikamaru’s face as rain droplets casted small shadows down his cheeks. Neji watched the bathroom door. The memories of the night were gradually catching up to their conscious minds. Neither of them knew exactly what it was they were doing nor where it was they were going. They sat.

“We should… we should try to get sleep.” The shadow-nin said. Neji didn’t say a word. The Nara shifted from his position enough to at least catch Neji in his peripheral. “Neji.” Shikamaru spoke again. He fully turned to take in all of other male’s image and saw that something wasn’t right. The elder shinobi wasn’t just ignoring him; Neji may not have even heard him.

“Neji.” He tried again. Shikamaru reached out and grabbed his shoulder. The Hyuga stood from the bed and turned to where he faced the other, but he did not look at him. His white eyes were not taking in anything he saw. He lowered his head and remained silent. Shikamaru could read the Hyuga then. The shadow-nin stood and watched Neji. Shikamaru knew an oncoming panic attack when he saw one and knew how to go about it. The last thing you do is try to hold them or grab them in any way, so he waited. He waited for Neji to let everything out before making any moves.

“What did I do?” Neji breathed aloud. Shikamaru knew the question was not to him. He let it hang in the air. Neji began to take slow steps back ward. It was apparent that he was attempting to calm himself down, but it was impossible. Once an attack at this scale starts, it has to follow through, so Neji did all he could do to save his dignity and shut himself in the bathroom to conceal his level of unease.

Shikamaru stood and watched the door. His own pulse had begun to pick up at the sudden change of pace in the atmosphere. He did all he could do in a situation like this; he waited. He leaned back and slid down the wall. His eyes remained on the door as he massaged his sore, bare feet. The journey had been rather long and painful due to his lack of footwear. He hissed, cursing himself for rushing mindlessly out of the house. He rotated his ankle then dropped his head back against the wall. 

“Neji?” He called after what he believed to be adequate time for the man to recover.

He got no response. It was all catching up at once and the weight of it was too much for anyone to handle, even for Neji.

Shikamaru closed his eyes. “Okay.” He sighed.

The Nara took to his feet and limped over to the bathroom. He leaned against the door trim. His eyes wandered as he listened for anything that could give him a clue on the Hyuga’s current condition. He heard running water that was cut off within a minute or two. He waited a little while before trying again.

“Hey, Neji?” Shikamaru adopted a casual tone that sounded as if he were oblivious to the Hyuga’s panicking in an attempt to make Neji more comfortable; he guessed the guy wasn’t exactly crazy for pity or any sort of special attention. Again, he got no response, so he waited some more. He didn’t mind waiting. He was tired to the point of being able to watch a brick for hours without fidgeting.

The knob turned and Neji slowly exited the bathroom and stood unmoving. His face was curtained by a his thick, unruly mane due to the man’s grabbing at it in the village. Neji slowly drew the door up behind him until it clicked shut. They both stood still. Shikamaru watching the side of his nerve-wracked companion’s heavy head, Neji staring into an oblivion that was nothing more than the poorly maintained flooring. Time passed, time that neither felt nor kept track of. Slowly, Neji’s head turned until one, pale eye could be clearly seen through the mocha curtain. White eyes worn down by the night met narrow, dark ones that watched him with a stillness that spoke volumes of the Nara’s own current level of energy.

Shikamaru leaned his head over to the bed, silently suggesting the Hyuga lie down. Every movement Neji took was slow because slow meant steady. After the shadow-nin saw Neji settle on the worn-out comforter and mattress, sure the Hyuga wouldn’t get back up and spur something else, he looked to his opalescent eyes. Even Neji appeared to be in shock of his own actions. His pale orbs looked far from being anywhere near accepting the wave of sleep to come over him. Shikamaru couldn’t compare. The Nara yanked the curtains closed then laid himself on the opposite bed side and faced the ceiling. He forced himself to stay in a conscious state in case of something he was unsure of. They shared a silence. Both knew that Neji’s sudden turbulent display of emotion wouldn’t be mentioned, so Shikamaru searched for something else but every time a subject crossed his mind, it some how seemed unfitting for the situation. Maybe he needed to let everything settle within the Hyuga’s mind before giving him something else to think about.

Shikamaru bit his lip and simply joined Neji in watching the ceiling as if it were playing out the night’s events before them.


	20. Chapter 20

Crows cawed in the sizzle of the morning heat.

A warm glow shone through Shikamaru’s sealed eyes.

He could smell the outdoors. A breeze wafted the sensation over him. It drifted across his face, fully bringing him to the world around him. He was back where he had left himself last night. He was in the cheap inn room, only this time around he could possibly be considered a rogue ninja; there was no way of knowing for sure what had gone down back at the village since they left.

He gradually blinked his eyes open to scan the room. Shikamaru found that a full-body imprint on his left had been left empty, however he was not surprised. At least one of his readings about the Hyuga were true; the guy would remove himself from any unfavorable situation with or without notification. Or at least he thought he was until he heard a small metallic click on the left bed side. Neji was sitting on the floor. Shikamaru turned his head back to stare at the curtains that would slightly blow with each small gust of wind that slipped under the windowpanes. Neji had opened them. The Nara wondered why but didn’t file it as an important gesture, so he looked back to the ceiling that was decorated with proof of a water leakage that had been neglected upstairs. Shikamaru knew that Neji had to be aware of him waking up just then so he didn’t bother with a salutation. He got straight to the point.

“So, what now?” His voice that had been muted for hours rasped. It was soft but carried an alarming question.

The metallic sounds came to a stop as Shikamaru awaited an answer.

“You go home.” Neji said.

Shikamaru knew that would be the most logical thing to do. He had no business aiding a rogue ninja in abandoning his village. He could be held just as accountable as Neji himself. Then again, he did not have any intention in abandoning the village. However, neither did Neji, he was sure. It just happened. Nothing was preplanned or thought out. Everything just took place.

Neji stood and faced the Nara that lie speechless on the bed. The Hyuga’s forehead was bare. The leaf headband had been removed which was probably the reason for the metallic tinks. It shaped Neji even more into a shinobi who had betrayed his home.

Shikamaru stared right back at him with an expression that was impossible to read. It could have read that he agreed and was reluctant to abandon the male or that he disagreed and could not be convinced otherwise. He did it intentionally. They looked at one another until Neji turned away and began to think of his next move. Shikamaru sat up, causing loud creaks from the old springs of the bed to sound throughout the room.

Shikamaru thought as he watched the Hyuga’s back. Looking back to the window, he yawned. Man was this whole thing a drag. Maybe he should go back home. He thought of his negligent father who left all of his mess for Shikamaru to clean up. It’s been that way for years and no matter how many times the man is confronted, he wouldn’t change, yet he wants Shikamaru to follow in his footsteps. Shikamaru could live without it. His mother… He could no longer think of her without something dark swelling in his stomach. He could get his own place, but he couldn’t because where would he get the money? There’s nothing to go home to other than possibly getting off scott-free instead of returning with charges of assault; he just knew the Hyuga could shape the story into anything they wished even though it had been defense. He could do as Neji told him and go home just to pick up where he left off in becoming his dad and avoiding his mother, mapping out strategies, doing the house work his mother never could do without freaking out and getting insanely depressed. He could go back to sleeping in random places because he didn’t want to go home, pretending he gave a shit about a lot of people, serving those who were constantly suspicious of him. Yes, he could go back home. Then again, he thought.

“You ever been to jail?” Shikamaru found himself asking as he watched dragon fly silhouettes zip past the windows, shadowed by the thin, translucent curtains. Jail couldn’t be too bad.

Neji turned towards him, skeptical for the reason behind the sudden question. The Hyuga watched the Nara and began to think even deeper, down to a Nara level.

“Do not worry about what will become of me. Go back to the village and charges may be dropped.” Neji said.

“Yeah if it’s a good day. Something tells me it’s not though.” The Nara sighed. Neji knew better than what he had told Shikamaru. He knew his clan would keep the boy in their grasp, but the consequences would be lighter for the Nara than for himself at least.

“Shikamaru, if you continue this, things will only get worse. With time, they will see us as no different from Sasuke Uchiha.” Neji pushed.

“As traitors?” Shikamaru mumbled?

“Yes.”

“They’ll get over themselves.” The genius of a boy shrugged it off.

This answer surprised Neji and struck him of any words he had in stock to counteract the shadow-nin’s.

“What do you think this is?” The Hyuga’s voice changed. He was becoming more impatient with Shikamaru’s stubbornness. He was trying to save the one of the them that could easily squeeze their way out of the great crime they’ve committed. “Clearly you do not understand the scale of this offense.”

Shikamaru moved over to the left side of the bed and stared up, dead into Neji’s face. “Well, maybe you can explain it to me.” The Nara was getting shorter by the minute due to Neji’s acting noble.

Neji narrowed his eyes and began, not backing down to Shikamaru’s hard gaze.

“The Hyuga clan is above the law. They obey no one and will stop at nothing to make sure they have complete control over its members, hence the curse mark. Unfortunately, one of the Hyuga elders found out about mine being erased and abused the fact, asking me to do things that were dishonorable. I could not follow through, so I tried to escape, but he wouldn’t let me go that easily. We fought which is when you arrived. You witnessed everything and did not stop at that; you assisted my escape. You assisted the escape of a side branch Hyuga which means something is not within their control so they will go through great measures in making sure that stray does not ruin the others. My escape could inspire the other side branch members to test the strengths of the main house. I was a fool to not have confessed to any of the elders before it escalated. Lord Hiashi had not returned that night and embarrassingly I figured that if he were the one to find out then maybe there would be a slight chance of my punishment being less harsh. My actions were that of a naive child.” Neji explained, closing his eyes and turning away shamefully. “It was my own cowardice that has brought us to where we are now.”

Shikamaru thought back to seeing the cursed Hyuga members standing in the street as they watched the two escape. He was right. The chances of that happening were higher than ever all because of Neji. Hearing the male speak down on his choice of action as if they were less than the actions that came with being human did shift something in Shikamaru however. He simply didn’t agree with how Neji chalked it up. His actions were that of someone afraid of something stronger than him, something that had brought him pain for years, not simply a child who was overly optimistic.

“My actions are punishable by blindness, if not… death.” Neji informed.

That brought Shikamaru back from his thoughts. Death. He saw the dream. He saw Neji hanging with an ‘x’ carved into his skin. The blood from the wound painting his face. Chills ran through him and the stress that he should have shared with Neji last night finally picked up within him.

“They would not allow the others to learn how to free themselves of the curse mark, so they would get rid of the one that knew how, whether the finding be a mistake or not. What took place in the lab was not intentional by any means, but it being an accident would not be of any significance to them. Anything out of their control that has the slightest thing to do with the secret of the Byakugan, they would eliminate without a second thought, Shikamaru, so when I said go home it was out of knowledge of what my clan is capable of. They have made countless people disappear from various families without legal intervention.”

Each one of the Hyuga’s words were sinking in, one after the other. Shikamaru’s attention shifted to the wall behind Neji as his mind began to race. At any moment, numerous Hyuga could show up and put an end to the both of them without negotiation. The idea worsened with the fact that no laws were forced on the clan. They could do as they pleased.

“Why can’t the law do anything?” Shikamaru wondered aloud, eyes never shifting from the old green wall.

“In order to prevent an uprising within the clan. If the village wants the alliance and support of a clan, they will not place restrictions on what practices the clan wishes to continue.” Neji stated.

He had a point.

“You say the Hyuga can make anyone disappear. What would stop them from wiping me off the map as I am? I mean before I continue with this whole disappearing act, if I were to go home now.” Shikamaru asked.

Neji looked over the Nara’s head and to the pale curtains.

Shikamaru knew the guy from last night had to be absolutely crazy and would make sure no one got the jump on him. He would have the shadow-nin beheaded if it meant vengeance from the embarrassment of last night; the Hyuga are large on respect and image and they had violated both hours ago. Shikamaru rubbed his neck. At this point, the Nara had something to run from and nothing to go back to.

By then, both shinobi had realized that even if Shikamaru were to return, the Hyuga would haunt him simply because of him being a potential source of vital information. The problem was that he was. Shikamaru looked up at Neji. He began to feel uneasy. There was absolutely nothing keeping the clan from gentle fisting his ass into oblivion.

“Nothing.” Neji answered. “They have every right to kill you if it means protecting the clan’s jutsu and its secrets. The only reason why the Hyuga were held accountable when Lady Hinata was being kidnapped was because the person killed had been from outside of the village. If Konoha had remained neutral, it could have sparked a war whether it be clan-bound or between villages.”

Shikamaru swallowed thickly, remembering the rage that had deepened the creases in the face of the man from last night.

“Izumo and Kotetsu.” Shikamaru mumbled numbly. His eyes remained fixed lazily on the wall.

“We need to move,” Neji said plainly, knowing they had both reached a consensus without further discussion.


	21. Chapter 21

They walked down the motel hall. They made sure not to stand out; they kept their heads low and their gazes even lower. However, that didn’t stop a motel worker from asking for them.

“Good morning you two.” She called, stopped right before them.

They both froze in their tracks. Neji looked through the windows that lined the wall, avoiding eye contact. Both males knew that Neji’s eyes would be a dead giveaway if she just so happened to know anything about the Hyuga clan, so Shikamaru went ahead and took the speaking position.

“Morning.” Shikamaru said unenthusiastically.

“Oh, you must not be a morning person.” Her smile crinkled the corners of her eyes. She was a smiley woman the Nara could tell. On any other day he could have appreciated it but today was not one of them. He just wanted to leave but he didn’t want another person to have the ability to say they’ve witnessed two weirdos coming through here, so he added to the conversation.

“Nah. Not really. We’re checking out today, gotta get back to real life. This place was a nice break from everything, though.” He said, watching the large trees sway in the wind beyond the glass panes.

“Oh, for sure. Being in a remote location with lots of trees and wildlife, this place is a great escape from reality and all of its troubles. Well, I won’t hold you two. You better get to breakfast; it closes in ten minutes. It should be enough time for you to grab some toast and be on your way.” She winked and continued pushing a cleaning cart down the narrow hall.

Shikamaru returned a side smile to the woman then leaned over to Neji. “Let’s grab something to eat.”

“And risk more eyes?” Neji retorted.

“To make sure we don’t drop dead from using calories that aren’t there.” Shikamaru said.

Neji acknowledged the point but narrowed his eyes as he walked behind the shadow-user.

Upon entering the small and rather plain dining room, Shikamaru immediately located the fruit and the bread that were offered on a wooden table held in a china dish set. He wasted no time packing what they needed. Neji looked around to see if anyone was paying too much attention to what they were doing and found a man eyeballing the two from a two-person seating area, only he sat alone. He was the only other person in there besides the two shinobi. The man, up in age, turned in his seat and looked down at Shikamaru’s dirty, bare feet, while the Nara’s back was still turned, then straight to Neji’s pale eyes. The observer was not shy by any means, his eyes never left Neji urging the Hyuga to grab Shikamaru by the shoulder and pull the boy out himself. Finally, Shikamaru grabbed a good handful and met back up with Neji who stood at the door with shielded eyes. The younger male stood and stared at the Hyuga trying to figure out what the problem was.

“Let’s go.” Neji ordered, exiting the dining building. The Hyuga stood outside and waited for the ringing of the bell that only sounded when someone was entering or exiting the dining department of the motel, but it did not sound. Neji opened his eyes and looked to the door as soon as Shikamaru was pushing his way out with his shoulder some seconds later. Neji looked to the male in disbelief then through the window where the old man had been watching them. The man had left. “What are you doing?” Neji asked.

Shikamaru stuffed the food into a bag that Neji did not remember the Nara bringing with him. He then slid his feet into black sandals which he did not initially have with him either.

“Where did you get that?” Neji asked, growing more impatient than he was before.

Shikamaru dropped a bagel into his newfound bag and licked the cream cheese from his finger.

Removing his finger with a smack, he answered the Hyuga. “They have a gift shop.”

“There was a man. He was watching us as if he intended us harm or suspected us of something.” Neji shot right back to the primary concern as they made their way from the site, he scanned the area for followers.

“I know, I saw him.” The shadow wielder said with nonchalance which told Neji that it was nothing to stress over, telling Neji they’re fine, just keep moving. “I took his shoes.”

Neji made a sharp turn toward the boy. “You took his _shoes_?”

“Yeah they were by the door.”

“Why would you do that?” Neji’s eyes were no more than two horizontal slits, narrowed greatly by a retained irritation. Shikamaru finally pushed him to it.

The shadow-user swayed to a stand-still. He looked as if he wanted to ask Neji what he meant. “Because I didn’t have shoes and the trek here hurt like hell.” He simply put as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Shikamaru, it was apparent that he did not like us to begin with, you may have added another person to the list of people that already despise us.”

The Nara placed both hands together and covered his mouth, intertwining his fingers over the bridge of his nose. He let out a long breath as his lids fell. “Is he really going to file a report over some shoes with a broken sole?”

Neji spun around and took for the trees, refusing to spare any more words with his now partner in crime. He thought the Nara was brighter than this.

Shikamaru sighed and slumped. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back, waiting for a moment to level his head. He then began to move his feet, reluctantly taking after the Hyuga.


	22. Chapter 22

Shikamaru came to a halt and perched comfortably on a branch. He watched Neji gain distance and worked up the energy to call for him. “Hey!”

Neji stopped and turned back to see he had left the Nara nearly ten trees behind. He stood and fully faced Shikamaru, waiting for an explanation or an admittance to wanting to turn back but instead the younger shinobi motioned for the Hyuga to come back. Neji complied and stopped on a branch above the Nara and continued to scan the perimeter. Shikamaru leaned against the tree trunk and began to explain.

“I know this place. If we head south west from here, we should be able to steer clear of the public. I know living like cavemen isn’t exactly ideal, but it’s our best bet to lay low for now, I mean it’s only a matter of time until someone with Byakugan just so happens to locate us. The least we could do is not take the obvious route.” He nodded his head over to the said direction and Neji looked towards it.

“Why?” The Hyuga asked, rising from a previously animalistic crouching position.

“Uh… ‘cause it’s our best bet of not getting caught? What do you mean…”

“Why do you continue to worsen your sentence?” Neji clarified.

For the first while there was no answer. The rustling of leaves and variety of bird calls filled the quickly tensing atmosphere. Even though the Nara had run away with Neji, there was still distrust and uncertainty within him. Shikamaru did not know how to answer the male’s question, so he thought hard.

“There’s not a lot to go back to.” He shrugged.

“Your mother, father, Choji.”

“Choji at most but even then… I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m doing, Hyuga. Maybe I don’t want to get killed by your crazy family because they think I’m a part of some grand scheme they need to put to rest. Hell, maybe I’m in it for the thrill,” he threw out there aimlessly, effectively ending the questioning although his tone never changed from his usual relaxed manner.

“You said south west correct?” Neji asked.

Shikamaru nodded and stood for some time longer. He folded his arms together and dropped his head. Neji lowered himself down to Shikamaru’s branch. The Nara could feel the Hyuga’s ghostly eyes, but it didn’t really bother him. Nothing was wrong, he just wanted to slow down for a second, but he let Neji analyze to his heart’s desire. He kind of wanted to see what the Hyuga would come up with.

“Do you need to rest?” Neji tried.

“Always.” Shikamaru knew at this rate, Neji might just be the very Hyuga that killed him because of his blunt responses and sarcasm. Much to his surprise, Neji didn’t say anything. The younger supposed it was to be expected though, laziness was one of his most well-known characteristics. He heard Neji sit on the wooden protrusion. That was what surprised him since the pale-eyed-nin had behaved like they needed to be running around the clock. Shikamaru opened a single eye and caught Neji in his glimpse staring in the direction from which they had come.

“Do we have any food left?” Neji asked.

“We haven’t touched it.” Shikamaru replied and handed the man the bag.

Neji took it without looking at the Nara and pulled out an apple. Whatever had grabbed the Hyuga’s train of thought had clearly taken over. Maybe Shikamaru’s words had sunken in. He knew that his clan was adept at locating anything they wished, but hearing it be verbalized reinforced that thought. Shikamaru could tell that was what had flipped everything because of the hopeless dimming of Neji’s eye; it was faint but evident for only a second before it disappeared under his lid.

Overcast took over the skies and a gust of wind carried the day’s warm front away. Shikamaru looked to the sky as his own mind began to race.

“Shikamaru…”

“There is a way we can hide ourselves from the scope of the Byakugan.” The shadow-nin sighed.

Neji’s head slowly turned to the Nara. His white eyes widened in shock. It was something that he, himself should have known, not someone who had not a trace of Hyuga blood.

“There is way. You work in my position and you learn about all sorts of things when the Hokage has to take desperate measures. I’ve dappled in many seals trying to decipher and recreate a lot of stuff enemies have tried. I could seal away the oxygen from a small area for a limited time if it really came down to it. It would be weak and short-lived, but you know.” Shikamaru shrugged letting a breath go as his shoulders fell, “I can do it.”

Neji began to feel on edge at the fact that someone out there had figured out how to disable his clan’s dojutsu when he remembered that it was the least of his concerns as of now. “How is it done?” Neji asked.

“The Byakugan one or the oxygen one?” Shikamaru already knew what the Hyuga meant, he didn’t know why he even asked.

Neji couldn’t tell whether or not the boy was playing with him anymore because the Nara said things without any apparent feeling. It was hard to tell when the Nara was trying to be funny. “The Byakugan seal.”

“That one is going to take our blood, a slip of paper, and a single tear from you if you don’t mind.”

Neji stilled and averted his eyes in consideration.

“You can just yawn or something, we can get tears that way. It’s not too complex of a deal, you don’t have to be in pain or anything like that.”

Neji remained unmoving. “I do not do that.”

Shikamaru rubbed the side of his own face. “You don’t sweat or yawn.” He stared in the distance as he tried to wrap his head around it.

“No, I do not tear up when I yawn.” Neji cleared up.

“What is wrong with you?” Shikamaru thought aloud in all seriousness. “Something tells me you don’t need oxygen to live either.”

Neji looked to Shikamaru expressionless.

The Nara hopped down from the branch. “Okay well let’s at least walk and talk. By talk I mean talk about how we’re gonna make you cry. I could just drag my finger through your eye, you know.”

Neji noticeably expressed a sign of discomfort at the idea.

“You scared of anything?” Shikamaru asked, pushing large leaves and stomping on stems with thorns trying to clear their passage.

“Not that I am aware of.”

“You cry when you’re angry? I could just keep pissing you off.”

“No.”

“No, you don’t cry or no, you don’t want me to piss you off?” Shikamaru asked needlessly again.

“Both.”

“What if I told you a sad story? You don’t seem like the emotional type though.” He knew the answer to that unnecessary proposal as well.

“I am not.”

“Figures.” Shikamaru dropped his shoulders and turned back to find the Hyuga eating the apple and staring right back at him. “You’re making this harder than necessary just let me take it directly from your eye. I’m pretty sure we just need some sort of eye fluid.”

Neji closed his eyes and crossed his arms. He thought. Having spent this much time around the shadow-nin, he realized that Shikamaru said smart and snarky things unintentionally without trying to be comical; that was just who he was. Neji was convinced that the boy didn’t even realize that he would make the jokes, they just fell from his mouth.

“We could drain some juice from the apple and pour it in your eye. The acid from the green apple...”

“Just use your finger.” Neji said quietly.

The Nara led them to a clear enough area so they could both sit for the proper preparation in order to carry out the procedure. He picked a napkin from the bag he had gotten from the gift shop and laid it in between them. Without a second thought, Shikamaru rolled up his sleeve and cut deep enough for red to appear. He dabbled the liquid on to the sheet of thin paper. “Now you. This is going to take more blood than a summoning justu would.”

Neji nodded and cut himself in the same area as the Nara, higher up on the arm, a safe way away from the wrist, and dropped the scarlet fluid onto the sheet. Shikamaru looked up to Neji’s face to see the white orbs shielded once again.

“Now the eye.” He said.

Neji eased his eyes open and leaned forward. He rolled his eyes up and waited for the Nara to do as he said he would. As Shikamaru closed in, the Hyuga repeatedly and reflexively shut his eye. After feeling him finally come in contact, Neji pulled away with his eye shut tight. Shikamaru formed hand signs and looked to Neji and grabbed at the Hyuga’s shirt.

Reflexively, Neji pulled himself away from the peculiar force with a questioning look. Nara looked up at him lazily as if he had done no wrong, giving the elder some time to remember he meant no harm. He was trying to help. “Look, the seal is going to leave a mark, you don’t want it where anyone could just glance over and recognize it for what it is. You have to hide it,” Shikamaru explained. “Where do you want it?” The younger asks.

“It does not matter.”

This whole thing was a drag.

“Open your shirt.” Shikamaru said.

Neji undid the one thing holding the garment together and peeled it from his shoulders. Shikamaru searched his torso. Neji averted his eyes, of course ultimately deciding to shut them.

“What kind of stuff did the guy want you to do?” The Nara asked suddenly as he placed two fingers on Neji’s upper rib cage, underneath his upper arm. The mark was no larger than a fingerprint. The Hyuga did not answer, so Shikamaru dropped it. It’s not like he saw anything on Neji that would have prompted the question. He then reached up his own shirt and placed his mark in the same location, slipping the top right back up. They sat facing each other for a few minutes. The sealing act declared that they have turned their backs and are no longer looking back if nothing else they did had declared it prior to that point. Shikamaru watched Neji to make sure the seal hadn’t backfired. Neji’s eyes rose from the forest floor to meet the Nara’s, his expression was still bare. It could have held fear and uncertainty, Shikamaru wouldn’t know. All he knew was that they should get moving if they wanted to gain a safe distance from the beaten path.


	23. Chapter 23

The only reason they got caught in the rain is because they had failed to take the overcast into account. The forest trees’ canopies served as somewhat of a natural umbrella from the heavy downpour though it did not completely prevent them from getting drenched. The trees’ shadows kept the forest fairly dark at all times of the day. They were now treading through mud and had to yell just to hear each other due to the loudness of bullets of water crashing against the leaves.

“I see something up ahead!” Shikamaru yelled. “Looks like a hole in a wall!”

Neji said nothing and only continued to follow the Nara with squinted eyes. It was hard to hear and see, making navigation worse than it was to begin with. At least this way he knew the villages advances have been more than likely slowed or stumped, that is if they were searching for them.

Shikamaru ran to the miniature cave and sat down almost immediately, releasing the bag from the tight grip of his arms and the cover of his shirt. He had tried everything in his power to make sure the bread would remain dry. Neji followed in closely behind and took a seat next to the Nara. Shikamaru leaned back and propped his weight up on his elbows. He closed his eyes and tried his best to drown out the heavy down pour. He will admit that he would take his own bed over this madness any day, but at what cost? He laid down on his back and placed his hands on his stomach. His hair had become troubling too. Slipping out of the house without shoes, a vest, an over night bag or a hair tie was really biting him in the back now. His hair stuck to his face and he blew away any loose strands that were too dry to stick in place.

“You know this place.” Neji said.

“Yeah, I’ve been here before.” Shikamaru admitted. “We had to hide out here on a mission some time back.”

“Some time back?”

“Yeah.” The Nara shifted his hips trying to get comfortable as if it were possible.

“How often do you return to this area?”

“We came here once a year ago and I haven’t been back since. The memories I made here weren’t great. Choji broke his leg and Ino kept shrieking over the bugs or something.” He turned his head to the side, slightly dozing off.

“And you remembered the exact geography?”

Shikamaru rolled his eyes open, “Oh, yeah.” He sat up and looked to Neji whose rain-drenched hair hung heavy and dark around his pale face once again strengthening the ghostly appearance the man already gave off. “Everyone thinks I’m this genius when really,” Shikamaru tapped his head, “I just have a good memory.”

“But good memories cannot create strategies as well as you do.” Neji countered.

“Uh,” Shikamaru closed his eyes. “Yeah, I guess. Or do I just remember which ones worked in the past and use those?" He knew he was lying; the acknowledgement had just grown to be something he didn’t feel like he deserved.

“Each situation calls for a different course of action.” Neji said.

“Okay, fine I am ridiculously smart.” He waved away the discussion as a whole and studied Hyuga’s face. The male needed sleep. “Don’t tell me you don’t sleep either.” Shikamaru put sarcastically, lying back down on the dirt.

Neji watched the boy before looking back out at the showers that hit the forest floor. “I sleep.”

Shikamaru chuckled, “You don’t say.”

“When I can.” Neji continued.

“Which is when?” The shadow-nin asked.

“Late at night to early morning. I normally have numerous responsibilities.” Neji explained simply.

“Sounds like a drag.”

Neji nodded watching a faint branch break apart from a thin tree and hit the ground.

“Well you can get all the sleep you need now. May be rough but at least the hours are there.” Shikamaru attempted to reassure the male, “If you’re lucky,” but reverted to his usual negativity. After saying so, however, Shikamaru began to have a harder time slipping back into the wave of sleep himself so he remained there with his eyes closed, it amplified the ruckus of the rain storm and made him more aware of his surroundings than if he were to simply keep them open scanning the place. He just knew that on the other side of him was someone who felt they must keep high surveillance at all times without interruption.

“You wanna take shifts?” Shikamaru knew that no matter what he told the Hyuga, he would still keep at it.

Neji thought about the risks that they were taking in not returning to the village of their own accord. He thought on Shikamaru’s behalf. Whatever happened to the Nara would be a direct result of his own selfish wish to abandon his clan. A part of him wished to be found. He lied down on the dirt and shut his eyes, trying to control the tension that had gathered throughout his body.

Shikamaru yawned, “What’s the plan for tomorrow?”

Neji didn’t answer. Shikamaru just knew the male had not fallen asleep before him.

“Shikamaru.”

Oh.

“If we get caught, say that I forced your hand.” Neji said.

“No.” The tone of which Shikamaru turned the idea down was that of someone declining an offer of food as opposed to an option to save their own life. “There’s a lake not too far from here, let’s go in the morning.” He carried the attention to something new to discourage opposition.

Neji searched the underside of the stone that stood above them. He was worn. “Alright,” Neji agreed.


	24. Chapter 24

The water was cool and reflected everything clearly. It adopted a green color due to the surrounding trees’ reflections. The snow topped mountain miles away painted a picture in the body of water that remained undisturbed by the water’s stillness.

Shikamaru emerged from the water and raked his hair back. He cupped the crystal-clear liquid in his hands and rubbed his face. Neji stood in the lake feet away keeping his eyes lidded. He sunk neck deep into the water’s icy chill allowing relaxation to catch up to him for the first time since they had embarked on the journey, though not completely. Their clothing rested on the pebbled gravel surrounding the lake.

“You know what would suck?” Shikamaru spoke up suddenly. “If we were killed in the nude.”

Neji slowly looked up to the peculiar boy who seemed to find a bit of humor in what he had just said. Shikamaru shook his head urging Neji to forget he had said anything.

“There is a spot not too far from here where I saw some life.” He added, “Like animals and stuff.”

“Did we run out of the food you packed?” Neji asked.

“Something got to it last night.”

Neji looked back to the water’s surface that sat unmoving just below his chin.

“Have you ever been hunting before?” Shikamaru asked even though he had already figured what the answer would be.

“No.” The Hyuga admitted.

Shikamaru could tell that it wasn’t something that the male would just love to see in the flesh. Still, he couldn’t pass any judgement. He remembered the first time his father took him to kill and skin an animal. It was a lesson on survival in the wilderness. Only, Shikamaru was only seven and it had done nothing more than steal nights of sleep from him. He didn’t exactly love the idea of doing it himself but at least he knew how. Both ninjas knew that it was something necessary that had only been made evil by modern civilization. It was their only choice now.

“You have?” Neji asked the Nara.

“Yeah, I’ve been.” Shikamaru said lowly.

“Then, you can teach me.”

Shikamaru was fully prepared to take over as the food provider, but there may be an occasion where he’s injured or incapable. Just teaching Neji could go a long way. “Alright. Just don’t get queasy.”

Shikamaru’s hair fell to crowd the sides of his face making him repeatedly shove it back. “I don’t know how you guys do it. This hair stuff is driving me insane.” He craned his neck back ensuring that the hairs stay back for good. He then felt something graze across his fingers. He turned to his side and saw Neji looking up at him.

“Here.” The Hyuga lent the boy the very hair tie that kept his own ends from straying every which way.

“You probably need it more than me though with all of… that.” Shikamaru traced the male’s mane with his eyes.

“I am not bothered by it.”

Neji had a point because the way the loose hairs would brush across the Nara’s cheeks and nose made him think there were small insects dancing across his face. He looked to Neji and held the gaze for some moments before accepting the offering and immediately equipping it. He looked to the trees as he tied the shoulder-length hairs back. Neji watched him as he worked the band. After finishing the last fold, Shikamaru eased himself back into the water until only the neck and up were visible. He drifted six feet across from Neji then caught the light eyes that studied him. The Hyuga found no point in trying to play it off. The Nara had caught his attention for a while. Neji supposed he was more interested in Shikamaru’s motive than he thought. He was curious of the boy’s thought processes and attributes. He was unlike anyone that Neji had come across throughout his seventeen years. He saw Shikamaru as a strange being rather than just the hyper intelligent young man everyone had painted him out to be. He did not behave like the stereotypical genius and seemed to do things without reason or explanation. It confused the Hyuga and it wasn’t often that he felt hopeless in trying to figure someone out by simply observing. Nothing Shikamaru did matched any of Neji’s schemas.

Shikamaru stared right back. Neji was the first person that he hadn’t been able to fully read yet and it intrigued him some time back in the village. He figured that it was the immense pressure that was molding the Hyuga into someone else, but then he would think back to the night at the lab and still wonder what all he hadn’t already figured out about the elder shinobi. He appeared to be a rather levelheaded person that would never fall to any sort of unnecessary antics. Something about the elder male was making it difficult for the Nara to reach a conclusion on the Hyuga’s true character. He would do small things that would throw off any idea he may have gotten of the guy before such as that night at the side branch residence when Neji looked to the shadow-nin as someone who was admirable yet odd. Until then, Shikamaru thought he was emotionless and cold. He thought about last night where Neji had decided to lie down instead of stress over keeping a night watch. Until then he thought the Hyuga was stubborn. Neji’s moment of panic replayed in his mind. More than likely, the rush of raw emotion had been a result of allowing things to build up until his subconscious could no longer keep them under wraps. Shikamaru was more than sure that it had been a mix of them evading the village and whatever events leading up to then that had broken the last wall keeping any emotional reaction from slipping right through him. The Nara didn’t want that to happen again, so he vowed to not bring it up. He figured that what took place in the hotel room was now a new spot of vulnerability to the Hyuga so Shikamaru decided it was best to continue keeping it off the table.

Shikamaru spoke up breaking the silence and their stare, “Let’s dry off and try to catch something for later.”

Neji nodded, lowered his eyes and watched as his hands disappeared the deeper he let them drift under the deep green.


	25. Chapter 25

“Alright so since we don’t really have any legitimate hunting gear,” Shikamaru held up a fist-sized rock insinuating that they would have to concuss their game. The Nara looked down to the stone and sighed. “It’ll be messy, but it’s just something we’ll have to get used to.”

Both shinobi knew that within a day, they had not gained enough distance from the village to be sure that they were completely off the map. By then, the police force or Hyuga clan may have spread out to numerous neighboring towns or anywhere with signs of people. They had to remain unpredictable as well as invisible hence the seal tattooed to their skin. They could not risk even entering a small village in a quick search for food. There was too much ground the village could cover within hours let alone an entire night. The plan was to stay in the forest and give the search party ample time to disperse or move on from the surrounding area.

Shikamaru looked back up to Neji who appeared to be deep in thought. The Nara watched him, looking for anything that could give him insight on what had taken hold of the Hyuga’s concentration. A part of him guessed it may be reluctance to bashing an animal’s skull in. Shikamaru placed the rock back on to the forest floor, catching Neji’s attention. The younger shinobi stretched, “You know, we could go at it later. I don’t really feel like it right now. They’ll still be there by the end of the day,” he shrugged.

It was rare that Neji could read the Nara’s mind as clearly as he just had. He knew Shikamaru figured that Neji felt uneasy at the idea of killing. That wasn’t the case. He was only thinking of their future and how long they could play this game, a game they could not possibly win. Neji bent over to collect the large rock and walked further into the forest’s clearing without a word. He did not fear killing if it meant they would live. They had sacrificed everything just by coming this far.

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head and pivoted on his foot, “Uh,” he spoke up “You can’t just walk around like that.”

Neji paused waiting for further instruction.

“You gotta mask your presence before you get too close to them because they could pick up on you from a mile away. We should take to the trees.” He pointed up towards the high branches covered in leaves that casted uneven shadows over the soil. “Get a birds eye view of what this place has to offer.” He slid his hand back into his pocket and waited for Neji to say something but the elder simply took to the trees without further discussion.

He activated his Byakugan, “I see two rabbits around one hundred feet from our current position.”

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Even when the Hyuga was relieved from duty, he kept a formal composure.

They closed in on the small game and watched the rabbits move beneath the tree. Neji did not want to question their next move as to avoid alerting the small animals of their presence so he waited for Shikamaru to take action. His face displayed his confusion when he saw the Nara drop down to ground level and present himself in front of their prey, but he knew that it was rare that the younger moved without a plan beforehand and he was more acquainted with wildlife so he sat still in the tree and observed.

Shikamaru knelt to the ground and held out what appeared to be some sort of vegetation. The smaller beings were unsure at first and kept the male in their vision. One was slow to move while the other remained idle. Shikamaru remained astonishingly still as he allowed the one rabbit to approach him. He kept the rock behind his back and watched them calmly. The rabbit that was first to approach began to eat the greenery that the Nara offered. He lowered the offerings to the ground, the consumer paid no mind to it and continued eating, encouraging the other to step up seeing as there was no apparent threat. It began to slowly crawl until eventually coming to a hop. Finally, the second accepted the convenient snack and lowered its guard.

Neji’s eyes widened slightly, awaiting the blow to be delivered. Shikamaru was in the perfect position to strike yet he waited there for a bit longer watching the prey eat mindlessly. Neji wondered what kept him from taking advantage of the opening straight away. Maybe he was the one reluctant to kill after all. There was a rustling in the bushes not far from them that made each rabbit look up, directing their ears in the direction of which the disturbance came. It was a deer who had stumbled upon the group which was when Neji saw Shikamaru grip the rock tightly. The Hyuga looked away from the scene which did little to block the noise of each pound. In the end, he did not wish to watch.

“Alright,” Shikamaru called up, holding both carcasses in each hand. “One for each of us.” He said through a victorious smile paired with lazy eyes.

Neji sighed through his nose then flickered his eyes down toward the huntsman.


	26. Chapter 26

Having eaten, the two decided to walk around for a bit before they fell asleep for the night. For a while, neither offered a topic to discuss due to every topic they shared being a sore spot.

“I heard you’re considered a genius,” Shikamaru said, picking a leaf half his size from the trunk of a tree.

“That is what they say.” Neji admitted.

“Well, who is _they_?” the Nara asked, wrapping the waxy leaf over his head.

“My clan.”

“Your clan. And they call you that _because_ …” Shikamaru questioned.

“Due to mastering a number of Hyuga techniques without proper instruction.”

“Hm.” The younger shinobi lifted his leg enough to step over a large root as he thought of a way to carry the conversation. “Do you acknowledge the title?”

Neji thought for a moment as they walked. “Yes,” he decided. “And you should, too. Your mind is out of the ordinary. It is able to wrap itself around many things that would prove to be complex for the average person. I have started to believe that it is something you do without consciousness.” Neji said. He turned to look at the other male and folded his arms. “It is impressive.” He continued honestly without expression.

Shikamaru stopped dead in his tracks and looked right at Neji unexpectant of the sudden praise. “Thanks,” he said. “I get that a lot.”

“I’m sure.” Neji turned to continue their unpaved path.

Shikamaru stood there watching the elder. “Yeah it’s kinda cool until it’s not to be honest.” He pulled the leaf from his head and held it loosely in one hand. “Being able to make sense of everything is kind of… numbing. There’s this lack of stimulation and people always want to get at you so they can use it to get the jump over others.” He rubbed his thumb over the ridges of the leaf’s edge. Being applauded and recognized for having a high level of cognition was often a heads up before being asked to do something with that mind of his, it was troublesome. He would often wish that he had never taken that test that put his intelligence on paper.

“How do you mean?” Neji asked, walking back toward the boy.

“You know. Ever since they saw that big number in ink on my test results, they decided that I’m going to use it for this and that and whatever. They didn’t see me as a kid anymore, I’ve basically been an adult as long as I can remember. I was some freak savant or something, I don’t know.” He wrapped the leaf around the back of his neck and held each end in either hand. As long as he spoke, he kept his eyes off of the male before him. “After a while it was just test after medical evaluation after more tests and – it just came to be a drag.” He exhaled heavily. It wasn’t often he talked about it. The only other person who would typically listen to him was Choji, but even then, the heavy-set boy would respond by saying Shikamaru’s ability was a blessing and that it was incredible which countered the point the Nara would try to get across.

“I understand.” Neji spoke.

Shikamaru’s eyes drifted to Neji. He saw the Hyuga eye a tree to his left. Something told the shadow-nin that the other really did understand. He felt foolish ranting about his own problems to someone who had come from a position that was a hell of a lot worse. He held the large leaf in front of his face, concealing himself from the Hyuga. He tapped his forehead against it. “Sorry.”

Neji looked to him and unfolded his arms, “For what?”

“Bumping my gums about nothing. I’m crazy smart and it’s saved my ass more times than I can count.” He loosened his fingers until his green, make-shift mask drifted to the ground between them. “It’s kinda cool.”

Neji looked into each of the younger’s eyes one by one repeatedly. “Do not apologize. I know what it means to be forced to mature years before you are ready. You have many years and potential memories stolen from you by the hands of those higher up. They see no point in allowing a child to grow at their own pace. They see how you could be an important asset or tool to get at whatever it is they want or need and take advantage of it because it is right there, able to be molded into anything they desire.”

Shikamaru met Neji’s solid gaze. He meant what he had said. It was clearly something that had been heavy on the Hyuga’s mind for some time now, because the Nara had never heard Neji sound so resentful. “Yeah,” Shikamaru thoughtlessly agreed. Both of their eyes made their way back to the tree Neji had studied earlier and they silently reflected on what had been put out into the air. A gust of wind blew, carrying nature’s litter of dry leaves and bits of wood down the unpaved path.

“I think the weather tonight might be a bit like last night’s.” Shikamaru informed.

“We should head back.” Neji nodded.

“Oh.” A new voice.

Both shinobi turned, back to back ready to defend themselves if necessary. Neji adopted his usual fighting stance as the Nara knelt on the forest floor with shadows emerging from the beneath him ready to attack.

The voice yelped in surprise, “Don’t hurt me, please!” Now that they stopped and listened, it sounded like an older woman. She dropped a basket and spilled wild berries on to the ground, alerting the shinobi where she was. They both caught sight of her shadowed silhouette behind the bushes.

“What do you want?” Neji asked.

“Ease up,” Shikamaru stood and whispered over his shoulder.

“Do not assume that she is not a threat.” Neji ordered.

“I doubt she’s here to kill us.” Shikamaru said as he approached the lady.

“Kill you? Why, no! No, I would never do such a thing! I was out collecting berries for a pie, I swear! Take whatever you want just please let me return home, I have people expecting me!” She begged.

Neji watched as the Nara drew in closer to the elderly woman, “Shikamaru,” he called.

“Neji,” The younger said right back. He bent over to collect the berries the woman had dropped and dumped them into her wooden basket. “I’m sorry we scared you, my friend and I have just been through a rough couple of days recently, we don’t mean any harm.” He offered her the basket.

“Oh, I see. Well, I’d hate to leave you two out here alone. You’re just kids, right? Are you lost? Let me take you back and give you something to eat. Your clothes look dirty.” She said, eyeing Neji and adjusting her glasses trying to settle down from the sudden startle.

Shikamaru turned to look to the Hyuga waiting for him to decline or show any sign of refusal. The truth was that both of their bodies were a bit worn down from sleeping on rocks, eating only a single rabbit over the past two days, and having been drenched in the cold rain with the breeze only serving to cool them further.

“Where do you live?” Shikamaru asked.

“Oh, it’s only a thirty miunte walk from here further south.” She pointed in the direction they needed to go. “You are welcome to come. I only have one last stop to make which could stretch the trip a bit. I need to collect water for tomorrow.” She smiled sweetly as Shikamaru looked to the empty rusted bucket in her opposite arm.

“Alright.” The Nara agreed, taking one last look at Neji. There was no apparent sign of the Hyuga being against the offer, so he wedged his way through the shrubbery and followed the woman further into the forest.


	27. Chapter 27

The woman held the door for Neji – who held her basket of berries – and for Shikamaru – who held the rusted bucket filled with water. Upon entry, the two found the living quarter to be a single room that held a bed, table, and a furnace with a chair before it. There were openings between the wooden panels that were meant to serve as walls. However, there were in fact no people waiting for her. It was a lie to maybe force pity and deter the two shinobi from attacking her in the forest while she was alone, but in an encounter like that, it was understandable as to why she would use it. It was not a lie that was too alarming. Still, Neji did not lower his guard.

“You can set those down on the table,” She said as she began to light the furnace. “I’ll work on the pie some other time, for now, let me get you two fed.” Her movements were quick but calculated as she worked to make a meal. “You can do as you please. Oh! I have a small barn not far from here. It’s empty now,” she added somberly, “but it should be a good place for you two to sleep. There are haystacks there if the ground is too hard, but the barn should cover you as the storm passes us.”

Neji stood and bowed respectfully, “Thank you.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble. You two looked abandoned.” She smiled as she stirred an old pot.

Shikamaru let out a small laugh at that and leaned away from the paint-chipped wall, “Thanks.” He opened the door for Neji to walk through it. He shut the door behind him and spotted the old barn structure past a beaten fence that no longer served any purpose. They made their way towards it through the tall, pale green grass.

The Nara watched the tall, green trees that surrounded the open meadow. The forest front was so dense with vegetation that it gave the illusion of there being nothing beyond themselves. The sun’s final moments kissed the tops of the trees, giving their leaves a bright glow as the lower parts of the tree succumbed to the cooling darkness of the new night. The temperature, he was sure, would not drop too much later than the sun itself. He began to hear the chirping of cicadas resonating from the thick bush of trees. They kept a steady silence until they reached the small fence that stood as a midpoint from the cabin to the barn.

“You still don’t trust her.” Shikamaru concluded.

“We should take shifts tonight.” Neji suggested.

The Nara frowned at the idea, “What about her makes you suspicious?”

“We can’t trust anyone.” Neji put simply.

“What happened? You seemed so relaxed yesterday.”

“That was yesterday, and I acknowledge my mistake.”

“It’s just some old lady, she didn’t even recognize the leaf symbol.” Shikamaru pointed out.

Neji removed his headband and slid it into his robe, “Who else do you know is ‘just some old lady’?”

“What…” The shadow-nin didn’t know what the elder shinobi was trying to get at.

“Our Hokage, Nara. Lady Tsunade could pose to be ‘just some old lady’ as well as the one in that cabin. We don’t know what the woman may be capable of.” Neji stopped and fully faced the other male. “While I appreciate her hospitality, I cannot help but question her the same as anyone else we encounter in our travels. She did seem rather eager to help,” He added. Just then a small creak could be heard from the barn. The Hyuga turned his attention towards the source immediately to find that a bird had perched itself on a ledge of fractured wood that protruded from the barn’s roof. Once settled, he continued. “In the end, we do not plan on staying for more than a night, so my opinion of her should not matter.”

Just watching as Neji spoke just then gave Shikamaru everything he needed to know about the elder. Highly guarded and tense. It was understandable. Still, it became a bit much for where they were now. They finally had a roof over their heads with hot food, part of him just wished Neji saw it the same way. The Nara rubbed his neck and slid his free hand into his pocket as he surveyed the area. He let out a rough sigh not exactly wanting to spark an argument but wanting to get his point across. “Okay, you’re right. For all we know she’s working for the Akatsuki. She could be some sort of sage or undercover sound ninja. Maybe they placed a bounty on us, and she heard about it. Maybe she’s poisoning our food, maybe there are explosives in the barn. Maybe she really did have someone waiting for her at the house and they’re waiting until we’re asleep to kill us, I don’t know, man.” He was honestly throwing out ideas without intending to sound sarcastic, but the way the Hyuga stared him down told him that he had let his annoyance seep into his tone. The Nara fixed his expression to regain its neutrality quickly. He wasn’t annoyed at Neji exactly. The situation they were in just made him tense as well. Neither of them has been eating or sleeping properly, it would irk any sane person.

Neji continued toward the barn.

Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose; he felt undeserving of his widely known title just then; some _genius_ he was. They were in the thick of things together. The last thing they needed was for them to not trust each other enough to express concerns. After all, it was him who had less of a reason to even be there. He could probably turn back whenever for all he knew. He was in no place to get emotional and lose his patience the way he just had.

. . .

The barn was fairly small but larger than the cabin, though just as rickety. Shikamaru lounged on the small haystack with a bowl of stew steaming next to him. Neji sat on his knees closer to the large doorless opening watching the tall grass sway in the wind and grow into somewhat of an orange color as the sun set. Shikamaru joined him in watching the hues change. He lowered himself to the dirt and sat his bowl next to him.

“Sorry about earlier.” Shikamaru found himself apologizing to Neji once again.

The Hyuga held up a hand and shook his head showing that there was no need. “I was being paranoid. I could sense that she was no match for the either of us, yet I persisted with my suspicions.”

“How long should we stay here?” The Nara wondered aloud.

“We should leave in the morning.” Neji said before taking a sip of the soup. The simple gesture had confirmed that the elder shinobi finally trusted the woman.

Shikamaru followed along and brought his own bowl to his mouth.

Wind began to pick up. Once it collided with the roof of the barn, a loud creaking was produced.

“Maybe we should leave tonight once the storm clears just in case the roof feels it should decide our fate.” Neji said before taking another sip.

“Was that humor?” Shikamaru asked. He looked to the Hyuga. The corner of the Nara’s mouth twitched threatening to turn into a smile. It was unexpected and amusing in some ways that Neji of all people in all situations would even attempt a slight crack at a joke of any kind.

“I was only considering the barn’s condition.” Neji responded over the rim of his bowl. He looked to Shikamaru who still watched the elder with a mildly amused expression. For a second, Neji’s pale eyes seemed to warm from their usual coldness.

Both men heard steps being taken in the grass and looked to find the woman making her way over towards them. They both sat their bowls down and the Hyuga regained his usual composure.

“I’m so sorry, I was going to bring you cups of water to wash down the stew, but I mis stepped and knocked the pail over. It’s going to take me ages to refill it.” She placed each hand on her hips and shook her head in shame.

“It is alright,” Neji rose to his feet, “we will refill it.”

“Oh, no, it’s miles out. You remember how long it took us to get here from the stream.” She said.

“What is wrong with the one only half a mile from here?” Neji asked. He had scoped the area upon their arrival to make sure that no one else was waiting to carry out an ambush and in doing so found the body of water just minutes away.

“It’s contaminated. You drink from it; you’ll grow horribly ill. It’s truly awful – I learned the hard way. It once was a beautiful stream, crystal clear and refreshing, but ever since the new ruler has taken over, there have been some changes that I’m not too fond of. For whatever reason, he uses that stream down there to drain the area of waste but charges us a water tax to collect from _his_ stream which is another one, the one we went by earlier to fill that pail. There is another trench-like area where another body of water used to flow, but it’s been drained and kept as some sort of reservoir for the ruler I believe. I haven’t a clue what is going on behind those walls, but we were so unlucky as to have been the old poor fools living on the surrounding land. As you can see, we can’t even ranch anymore.” She looked to the empty barn.

“We?” Shikamaru asked.

Neji narrowed his eyes. He did pick up on others close to their location, but they seemed rather harmless. They kept their distance and seemed oblivious to their arrival. Still, he remained suspicious up until then.

“Yes, though it may not seem like it, I’ve got neighbors all around me. We’re spread out. We agricultural folks like our distance,” she smiled as she spread her arms emphasizing said distance. “The water tax is too much for us to use on things like farming though, so our community had to come to a standstill, leaving us all to fend for ourselves. The stream is guarded by these men and if they see your face more often than others, they’ll charge you extra for some water, so I’ve learned to only get some for myself and myself only. Had to sell the cows even.” She reminisced over the hay that sat untouched.

Shikamaru furrowed his brows in thought. He looked up at Neji who still stood facing the outside. He took the bucket from the woman’s hands and exited the wretched structure.

“Neji where are you going?” Shikamaru stood.

“To refill her bucket and become more familiar with the irrigation issue.”

The Nara rubbed his face. The woman was right, the walk was not short or sweet and there was a storm coming, but he knew he should go with the Hyuga. “Okay,” he exhaled, “Thank you for everything. We’ll get your water and be back as soon as we can.” He nodded with that and rushed off to catch up with Neji.

“You know you’re starting to rub off as the impulsive kind.” The Nara admitted.

“I have been feeling impulsive ever since that night.” Neji said.

Shikamaru paused to think. “Which night?” He asked.

“The lab.” Neji said as if it were never an untouchable memory they shared. He brought it up so freely and comfortably. Maybe Shikamaru had made himself believe that it would be a sensitive topic when Neji never really felt the same. The Nara trailed the other shinobi into the forest and watched him from behind. The longer he was exposed to the Hyuga’s character, the more peculiar of a being Neji became.


	28. Chapter 28

By the time they reached the stream, it had grown dark. Lights that illuminated the water source flashed as tens of people moved around them. Cluttered discussions added on to the splashing of water further overwhelmed the site. The people who shoved to get to the slim stream began to overlap and grow short with patience. Some grew irritated to the point of becoming physical. That was when they spotted the first guard. A man in armor, armed with a long, sharp-ended spear broke the two men up and yelled something neither shinobi could make out. The men still tried to get at one another over the guard until another guard engaged and dragged one of them away from the stream altogether.

Neji watched as he was ushered away and saw how the guards went as far as to empty the water each man had collected. It was unnecessary due to the men having already been escorted from the scene. The Hyuga eyed the armed man and his hostage until they became invisible in the night behind the crowd.

“Did you see that?” He asked, placing a hand on Shikamaru’s shoulder in order to shift the Nara’s attention from the crowd’s uproar. Neji’s eyes never left the guard’s direction of disappearance.

“What?” Shikamaru yelled in response. However, instead of repeating himself, Neji handed the bucket to the Nara and walked away, weaving his way through the tightly packed area. Shikamaru squinted his eyes in confusion. He left the shadow-nin clueless. All Shikamaru knew was that he was suddenly the one who needed to work his way through all those people long enough to extract water from the weakly flowing stream.

Neji trailed the guard as best as he could from memory. Once he reached around where he last saw the men, he swiveled his head trying to catch a glimpse of either one of them. Then, a small whimper. Neji froze and closed his eyes to focus on the sounds of his surroundings rather than the visuals. He heard it again only this time it was a hitched breath. He reopened his eyes with a better clue of which way the small voice was coming from, still it was too dark to see. He continued further into the forest’s blackness in thought of distancing himself from the ruckus of the crowd to better his focus on locating the voice. He reached to a point of no longer being able to make out the distant conversations and commotions. They all became a mix of pitches and variating volumes from afar. He heard another pained breath. He spun to his right and swore to himself he saw a dark mass sitting against a tree, a person possibly.

“Is anyone there?” Neji asked. He kept a good deal of his attention on trying to sense others who may be beside him in the dark. He only felt something in the figure’s direction which was when the same voice began to tremble. It was a sort of sound that came from a person who didn’t know whether he should cry out in pain or cry out for help, so Neji decided to close the distance between them. The closer he became, the less it appeared to be a dark mass. It was the man who had been dragged away from the light left alone, battered. The Hyuga knelt down and listened to the breaths the man struggled to take in and release. He studied the man the best he could. He looked to Neji but did not appear to be shaken by his proximity. He looked down to where he held his hand over his side, then closed his eyes wincing in pain. He clenched his teeth to hold back a cry that could bring him further discomfort. It had to be a broken rib, the Hyuga guessed. “Did the guard do this?” Neji asked, though he was more than certain.

The injured man exhaled harshly and cursed. “They beat us like dirty rugs.” He threw his head back against the tree. “Bastard didn’t think it was enough to take my water.” He hissed in pain. “He had to leave me broken too.” His head fell forward. He was suffering. “Wait, you have to help me.” He begged.

“I will. I will be back.” Neji swore. Deep down, the Hyuga wished to ask the man the questions he had about those who sat higher up, about the ones who ran the system, but he knew better than to interrogate an injured man. He stood up and began to make his way to notify the Nara.

“You’re a Hyuga.”

Neji’s eyes widened at the statement that had been made behind him. He did not think that those living in the area would be too familiar with his clan.

“You’re powerful. You can help,” he grunted. “Help us. We’ll die from dehydration at this rate. If not, then from their brutality.” He panted from speaking on low levels of breath intakes. “You have to.”

Neji did wish to help these people. He had from the minute the woman on the old ranch spoke of the system’s immoral practices. He did not know if it was his own way, or if years of Konoha grooming were making him want to drop what he was doing and assist those who could not fend for themselves. Whichever it was made no difference; he found himself lowered to the man’s level once again. “What do I need to know?” Neji asked. Though he wished to help, he had to weigh the outcome. As long as he and the Nara had been away from the village, he wished to stay silent and undetected. Neji wondered if helping these people would make them talk, make news spread. On the other hand, the two did not plan on making a living here, so he could aid the people and leave soon after, still it could leave a trail of their whereabouts. The Hyuga nearly regretted offering his help, but he knew that he would never be satisfied with himself if he left the people to suffer when he was the only one capable of preventing it.

“The dry stream from here. There’s a dam keeping the water back. If you can get the ruler to…” he grunted in discomfort, “…if you can get him to take it down, we could get water without overlapping each other.” The man explained.

Neji was sure that even if the dam were to be removed, the new ruler could charge the same tax, but it would at least loosen up those who overlap each other fighting over the water each day. He was also sure that nothing he had to say would convince the ruler to comply. Another factor to add in was how the man had recognized him as being of the Hyuga clan. Knowing the name suggested that one could know of the clan’s abilities. It wasn’t good. He wondered how many people had recognized it as well as the man before him. He did not want to stand out from the rest, he needed to blend in to remain hidden until he and the Nara relocate. Because the area was acquainted with Hyuga and knew what to look for, a Konoha search unit may cover this area asking for Neji. He concealed his light eyes. He was thinking too far and too fast. All of those were possibilities, but he had to trust Shikamaru. Shikamaru had suggested they steer off the beaten path and take unsuspected sudden turns until they just so happened to come across the older woman in the woods. Still, this area could have simply been uncharted in the Nara’s internalized map. Maybe Shikamaru has never been out this far. His mind was racing with possibilities. “I will come back for you,” Neji assured. He stood and rushed to where he last saw the Nara to alert him of his findings.

The crowd had grown impatient and began throwing shoulders and elbows. Shikamaru felt his feet nearly leave the ground due to how tightly packed everyone was. Each panicked voice was incoherent. Shikamaru heard buckets clash and fall, water being splashed violently and people picking fights with those who weren’t watching closely enough to where they were going. Shikamaru had never been the fighting type so he helplessly ended up wherever the tide took him. He was washed up towards the back of the crowd empty-handed. His bucket had been taken so he stood there in shock at how easily the people had lifted and tossed him to the side. His mouth sat slightly ajar and he fell at a loss of words then slowly closed it wondering how he would tell Neji that not only did he fail to get anywhere close to the stream, he lost the bucket in the process.

“Nara.”

“Oh,” Shikamaru looked to Neji who seemed to have appeared from thin air, he thought he’d have a little more time to prepare an explanation. “Where did you go?” The shadow-nin asked.

“There are people here who recognized the Byakugan.”

“It’s widely known.” Shikamaru said.

“Yes,” Neji looked to the younger male, “Typically in areas highly populated with ninja and turmoil, not in locations similar to these.” He watched the people wreak havoc in front of them.

Thunder began to roll in reminding them of their fixed time limit to get water and return to the cabin.

“Damn.” Shikamaru said under his breath.

Neji looked back to the Nara in question of what was wrong this time around. He studied him up and down. “Where’s the bucket?” Neji asked.

Shikamaru held his hand up towards the crowd and shrugged. “I don’t know what happened, they just…” He settled for a sigh. “It’s really hard to look at. Some of these people, their lips were so dry, and I saw this baby.” He rubbed his face as if he could brush his stress right off, “There was this baby, Neji he was crying, but there were no tears. The way the people would weakly fling themselves around hoping that it would be enough to get them to the water. Clearly whatever they charge is too much because none of them are getting enough daily.” His frown was deep with concern and disturbance. “Some tax.”

Neji listened to his words and imagined things to match the Nara’s depiction. It bothered him just as deeply as it did the other. The Hyuga tightened his lips and reached up towards the Nara’s hair, retrieving his hair tie. He tied his own loose hairs hair up into an unorganized bun.

“Okay.” Shikamaru said as his hair fell against his face, clueless all over again.

“I am going to do something foolish, but then we will have to relocate the instant I return.” Neji warned.

“Okay?” Shikamaru tried to think of what that could possibly mean as he watched the Hyuga remove his own shirt. He watched the male tie it around his head entirely covering his face and hair. He tied the sleeves around his neck and formed a knot. The Nara assumed it served to conceal his identity. Even leaving his nose uncovered could expose the use of the Byakugan and it would keep his distinctive hair from being displayed, so complete coverage was his only option, still the appearance screamed that he was going to do something illegal. “Neji.” The Nara said, hoping for further explanation.

“I am going to deliver a man to a medic within the village walls and go for the dam.” Neji said, voice muffled by the fabric of his shirt. He spared no time, turning to take off back to where he left the injured man at the base of a tree.

“Wait!” The plan was so sudden, so reckless but Shikamaru did not like the idea of being left in the dark awaiting Neji’s reemergence so he followed after the Hyuga as best as he could through the darkness over uneven ground then felt the coolness of the first rain drop fall against his nose.


	29. Chapter 29

Shikamaru ran after the Hyuga but his mind ran quicker. Many of his thoughts were similar to those of Neji. He had the same concerns for possible publicity which made the elder’s disguise sensible though it looked a bit odd. It hid any distinctive traits Neji had such as his long hair and pale eyes. Besides, neither of them had much to work with so the white robe would have to do for now. The Nara watched as they came closer to a black figure slumped against a tree to find it was in fact an injured man.

“The guard who escorted him away beat him in the dark. I need to get him to a professional, then I will work on the dam.” Neji explained. He bent over to help the man rise to his feet. It was a slow process with many pauses in between, his pain was worse than the Hyuga had initially thought. Something within him had to be punctured. Shikamaru wrapped the man’s other arm around his shoulder. Together, both shinobi walked the man to the wall entrance that stood next to where the stream exited the walled village. There, more guards kept watch of those who may attempt to sneak in without citizenship. The men picked up on Neji and the others long before they reached a talking distance.

“Turn around,” one guard shouted.

“Look, man he just needs help. He’s got broken ribs.” Shikamaru called back as the three continued to walk.

“I said turn around. Otherwise, we’ll have to force you back.” The second guard threatened. Still, the three kept moving closer to the entrance. Neji kept his Byakugan equipped and watched as the two guards held their spears in their direction.

“Why is his head covered?” The first guard was skeptical.

“It’s about to pour. He hates getting his hair wet.” Shikamaru said.

“And why his face?” He questioned further and tightened his grip on his spear.

“He’s blind, hates it when people comment about his eyes.” The shadow-nin lied. At least it would make sense for Neji’s eyes to be the pale color they truly were in case the guards were to uncover his face. He just hoped that they weren’t familiar with his clan as well.

“Alright stop right there, we aren’t going to tell you again.” One of the men stepped forward making the three halt in their steps.

“Alright, well can someone come out here and help him out?” Shikamaru tried only to be ignored. The two men stood their ground and refused to grant them entry, so the Nara stepped back. Neji felt the tug of the movement.

“What are you doing?” Neji asked in a whisper.

“Finding another way in.” He turned them all around and walked back in the same direction they took to get there. They walked far enough to be out of their scope and settled behind a tree. “How many men did you see on the other side?”

“Two just like on the exterior. Because it is so late, the streets were empty as well.” Neji said.

Shikamaru closed his eyes to think for a minute. Seconds, later he delivered his strategy. “You two wait here. I’ll go up the wall on another side undetected, find a villager from within and use their identity to hopefully get us in. If that doesn’t work, then we’ll have to abandon our low-profile tactic. We’ll have to go on the offensive and knock the guards unconscious in order to get in, but I doubt it’ll come to that.”

Neji gave a single nod.

Shikamaru looked directly at him, “and maybe while we’re in there, you could get a different disguise. Maybe they have masks or something. Even though simply stealing another man’s image would be a hell of a lot easier, it could raise questions. We don’t necessarily want to frame anyone. I’ll switch back from my disguise as soon as we’re in the village and the gates close. It’ll be quick,” he quickly assured. “Start making your way back towards the gate, I’ll be out soon.” He took off to the west and ran until he knew the men at the gate couldn’t detect him, not even by sound. He watched the guards as he closed in on the wall before latching his feet on to the smooth stone. Once at the top, he looked over the land and saw a number of homes scattered across the terrain. They were the homes of the neighbors the woman spoke of at the barn. He saw all of the things that made them what they were before the new ruler took over. He saw a small home adjacent to a gated area, empty of grass. It was a pasture. He saw another home that appeared to have been abused by time and nature that stood just behind a large field deprived of any successful crops. Not too far from it was a windmill that did not turn; it was dry. Shikamaru flattened his lips then looked further east where he saw how the number of people had dwindled around the stream. It seemed that just about everyone had gathered their water for the next day and departed, still the sight of the ruler’s guards watching the people simply get what they need in order to survive felt odd. They looked at them as if they suspected the people to commit a crime or poor act, as if they were nothing more than beggars.

The Nara turned to kneel on the edge of the inner wall. He saw cobble stone streets. They were lined by warm cottages that surrounded shop outlets and bakeries. The streetlights were each separated by twenty feet and gave the village a warm glow. It was hard to believe that such wealth sat, unevenly distributed just on the other side of the large blockade. Shikamaru lowered himself to the interior. The smells swept over him. It smelled of bread and roasts followed by fresh baked pastries, some prepared for tonight’s feast, others baked for tomorrow’s consumers. It only bothered him further. He wondered how many of them knew of how crooked everything really was. The people on the other side of their haven were suffering. Without water there is no way to grow what they need in order to survive. They are living off of whatever scraps they can find in the forest while these people live off of a surplus of food. The Nara looked at a stand loaded with fruits and vegetables. Across it sat another stand that had meat handing on display. Part of him wanted to take some to give back to the outsiders. He had to ignore the urge and stay focused on the task he had given himself. Besides, after taking shoes from the man in the inn days ago, he did not feel like being lectured by the Hyuga.

The squeaking of a door’s hinges sounded, making the shadow-nin dive towards the nearest source of cover. It was a young woman, his next cover. She came through a door behind the meat stand and began to chop at the meat’s binds as she complained to someone who appeared to be inside the building. He kept low as he crept over to get a closer look at her. He needed to get the details right if he was going to pull this off. He crouched below the stand’s counter and eased his head up just enough to catch a glimpse of her before lowering himself back to the ground. He exhaled silently and figured it would be best to just confront her face to face. He would get nowhere like this. He stood and faced the woman who had her back turned towards him. She continued to complain.

“I just don’t see why I have to be the one taking these things off the threads. I made it very clear that I hate meat, yet here you are making me cut them down. Why don’t you ever make my brother do anything? He gets to go anywhere any time! It’s ridiculous! Sometimes I wish I were a man because this house keeping crap does not satisfy me one bit!”

Shikamaru cleared his throat, “Hey.”

The young woman gasped and turned around with a knife in hand.

“Hey, hey!” The Nara held his hands in front of him to show he meant no harm. “I was just walking and heard you. You sounded angry and was wondering if everything was okay.” Shikamaru put on his calmest smile to make her feel more at ease. She was a beautiful woman who stood right below his chin. She had long, dark hair and dark eyes topped by long lashes. Her lips and cheeks held a rosy hue that gave her a cheerful look.

She stared for a while without adjusting from her tense position.

Shikamaru bit his lip in a thinking manner.

“Oh! I thought you were going to steal some of our meat or something.” She rolled her eyes, “Yeah, no. I’m not that great. I got stuck on cutting duty, it’s such a mess. I mean look at my apron!” She held her apron up and stretched it to show the blood stains that painted the fabric. “To tell you the truth,” she looked back to the door to see if she was being watched then leaned towards the Nara, “if you take care of this, I’ll pay you,” She whispered then chuckled. “You really do look like a thief though, hair, earrings, I mean what look were you going for?”

“Girl, what are you doing out there?” An elderly man stepped out of the door. “Who are you talking to? Get to work!” He demanded.

“I was just…” She turned back to where the Nara was standing only seconds before to find that there was no one there.

Shikamaru ran in the shadows, clear of the streetlights. He passed behind buildings all while in the skin of the woman he had just spoken to. Her words had only strengthened his urge to take from this place. He scoffed. He approached the gate and stood before the guards.

“Evening Miss Sara,” one guard said as they both bowed their heads. Shikamaru figured she must be praised for her appearance around here and he thanked the gods that it had been her he stumbled upon even if she was a pain to listen to.

“Evening, guards.” Shikamaru waved and smiled. “I have a friend who I’ve heard has been hurt badly,” he pouted to further clown how easily men fall for feminine charms, “I know there are no good doctors out there, so can you please let him in?” He clasped his hands together.

The two men looked to each other. One looked to the ground. “Yeah we heard about him through the door. From the sounds of it, he obviously isn’t a citizen and you know the rules, Sara.” He shifted his weight and placed the end of his spear against the ground like a staff.

“Please, it’s his only chance at survival!” Shikamaru tried.

“Rules are rules, Sara.” They looked to each other after the girl’s spirit visibly dropped. “Uh, but hey. If you want to pay up, maybe we’ll think about it,” One of the men proposed. Right then, Shikamaru began to weigh his options. Pay up or go ahead and knock the two unconscious. He began to hear voices on the other side meaning Neji and the injured man had arrived at the other side of the gate. “That must be your friend,” One guard said with a grin. The Nara wondered if he should even keep his act up given the new situation.

“What’s your price?” the disguised shinobi asked. The rain had turned into a mild drizzle, nothing too harsh but just enough to be troublesome.

One of the men stepped closer, grabbed Shikamaru’s arm and spun him around to where his back was pressed against the wall. The two crowded him on either side. The hit against the wall left the Nara winded.

“I’ve been watching for some time, Sara. You’re really cute and that’s no secret seeing as how so many guys chase after you only for you to ignore them, not us, not this time. You do this favor for us and the guards on the other side and we’ll see to it that your friend gets the medical attention he needs,” he placed a kiss against the Nara’s neck, “okay?” He said gently.

The feeling was familiar. Like with his mother, he hated it. He moved to get the men to back off immediately. He could no longer think of which course of action was best to take, he just wanted it to stop.

“Come on, Sara, you want your friend to live, right?” The guard shoved him against the stone, “then I suggest you don’t give us trouble. Oh, and keep it between us, will you? I’d hate for your looks to go to waste.” The guard continued pushing himself on Shikamaru until it became too much. The shadow-nin shoved him with all of his strength, knocking the man on the ground. Thunder sounded as the rain picked up. He stood over the man with a blank mind. For once, his head was clear of all logic. He didn’t know what to do. Did he overreact? He heard the other man collapse beside him then looked to his right to see a drenched Neji holding the injured man up.

“I’m sorry.” Shikamaru said and he meant it. Neji leaned the man against Shikamaru, stepped towards the guard that had been shoved by Shikamaru and flipped him on to his stomach. He lifted the metallic helmet and delivered a precise chop on the back of the neck, making that last of the four guards pass out. Neji lifted the cloth from his head due to the downpour making his breathing more difficult. He looked to the Nara with an unreadable expression as he unfolded the garment. The younger couldn’t tell if Neji was thinking about his poor performance or well-being after what had just happened.

Shikamaru looked down at the four men that had been knocked unconscious. “I’m sorry,” he repeated unsure of exactly who it was he was speaking to. The failure had been embarrassing and Neji had seen it unfold undoubtably. For now, he had to shake his mind of it and continue what they had planned.

“Take him to a medic since I no longer have a cover up. I will go look for a replacement and a new disguise for you as well,” the Hyuga said as he slipped his arms back into his sleeves. Shikamaru nodded as Neji left him with the injured man.

“It’s okay.” He heard the man croak below him. The shadow-nin looked down at him.

No, it wasn’t.


	30. Chapter 30

They stepped from the hospital doors and back out on to the street. Shikamaru regained his true appearance and Neji now wore a wooden mask with the face of a red demon. Shikamaru wore a similar one that was white that had features lined by silver paint. The masks’ normal purposes would be celebratory, but not for what they were about to do. Both men had decided that the ruler was far from listening to the voice of reason. They were going to have to scare the man into tearing down the dam, because simply tearing it down themselves would only lead the ruler to punish the outsiders. The plan was simple. Get close enough to the ruler, threaten him and show that they held more power than him if it came down to it. The plan was Neji’s. Shikamaru didn’t feel like it was his place to plan their next move as of right now.

Sneaking past the guards was simple enough. They came in through a window and walked across the palace’s ceiling, which allowed them to slip right past anyone below.

“Shikamaru,” Neji whispered, tilting his head down another hall, “his room is this way.”

It should have been obvious. The doors were the most magnificent structure throughout the entire palace. It was coated in the most intricate designs and reflected beautifully off of the marble floor. The door stretched from the marble to the hall’s high ceilings. In front of it hung a diamond chandelier that allowed the gemstones within the door to shine handsomely.

“He is asleep in his bed that faces the entrance though it is around fifty feet away from the door. Guards seem to be circling below us. They are rotating from their positions. They will be here in about five minutes.” Neji alerted.

“Then, let’s hope the guy is a heavy sleeper.” The Nara said before pushing against the large stone doors. They were heavy and difficult to budge. As soon as he did get them to move, there was a loud creak.” His eyes shot open and he inhaled sharply.

“He is still asleep.” Neji said.

Shikamaru shut his eyes and held his breath as he eased the door open just enough for them to squeeze in. He stood there with his hands planted against the door for a minute and steadied his breathing. What they were trying to do was nerve wracking, but Neji didn’t appear to think so.

“Nara.”

“What?” Shikamaru whispered.

“There is an infant in the room.”

Shikamaru prayed the thing didn’t wake up before they could get to where they needed to be. Shikamaru silenced his footsteps as he started towards the large, circular bed. There was a loud creaking and slam of the door. The Nara’s shoulders shot up to his ears and turned to find that Neji had closed them.

Shikamaru lifted his mask. “What?!” he mouthed silently.

All the Hyuga had to do was look at the Nara for a few moments for Shikamaru to understand that leaving the doors open would urge the guards to look inside the room which they did not need at all. Still, it frayed his nerves. He shook it off, lowered his mask and continued towards the ruler’s bed side. He hovered his hand over the man’s mouth. In his other hand was a knife that he had taken from the small shop they stopped by before arriving. He looked to Neji then looked back down to see the man peering up right at him fearfully. Shikamaru quickly covered his mouth and straddled the man on the bed, binding his arms together singlehandedly. Still, the ruler grunted and made as much noise as he could.

“Be quiet.” Neji demanded cooly. His voice was steady and carried the venom of a threat without having made one. He stood by the infant’s bassinet and held a knife over it. Shikamaru’s eyes widened at the sight; he was not under the impression that they would take it this far. The Nara felt the man shaking his head underneath his palm. His warm breath was wet to the touch. He was pleading the best his could while being subdued. “If you do not tear down the dam, then in three days’ time, we will return. Make use of your time.” Neji lowered his knife into the band around his waist and exited through the nearest window. Shikamaru was left with no other option other than to follow the man which led him to the roof of the stone palace. The rain had stopped. He found Neji standing, staring out at the villages both within and outside the walls. He was still, hardly a breath was ever visible from him. Shikamaru stared.

“What…” The Nara began.

Neji turned towards the younger shinobi.

“…the hell.” Shikamaru finished.

“I would never truly kill his child.” Neji said.

“Then why would you pretend?!”

“I doubt he would risk his own child for the purpose of making more money.”

“We don’t know that.” Shikamaru added.

The Hyuga lifted his mask, “Well then, let us hope. From the look on his face, I could tell he would never allow such a sacrifice.” Neji said facing him fully. Shikamaru listened closely enough to hear Neji’s own shortness taking hold. The Nara remembered his own plan didn’t exactly follow through so he shouldn’t be the one to criticize the idea. “It seems as though they have never seen a ninja before.” Neji said, looking back out at the buildings beneath them.

Shikamaru sighed his tensions away as he took a seat on the roof before lifting his own mask. “I know. It’s probably because they haven’t. You saw how the security was dressed. It’s like they knew nothing of self-defense or offense outside of the armor and sharp sticks.”

“What happened at the gate? Why did you lose focus?” Neji asked.

“The situation was gross. I’m sure you saw it.” Shikamaru waved his hand lazily in the air.

“Yes, I did.” Neji took a seat by the Nara. “Your energy shifted. I felt it. Your confidence fell significantly even though you could have handled them both.” He lifted his mask. “What happened?”

“They were all over me and wanted to have their way, how was I supposed to react? Just threw me off.”

Neji looked to the Nara questioningly.

“I’ll probably explain some other time, but not right now, okay?” He stood, lowered his mask, and began to make his way back down so he could steal a pail and get the water for the woman like they had promised.


	31. Chapter 31

A loud explosion shook the two shinobi. Shikamaru opened his eyes and spat hay from his lips as Neji exited the barn to get a visual.

The Nara was still plucking golden strains of hay from his shirt and pants by the time he reached the Hyuga. He looked to Neji and found that the male was looking upwards at something. He trailed the elder’s eyes up to a section of the wall that towered over trees, miles away from where they stood. The large wall stood between two plateaus.

“My word.” The older woman joined them in watching as explosives went off, destructing the dam for good. Neither shinobi expected the ruler to follow through this quickly much less at all. They expected to be hunted down all night, so they took shifts in staying up. Neji was on the clock when the loud noise shook them both. They watched as large bits of the wall came tumbling down almost in slow motion due to the grand size of the debris.

Shikamaru looked to Neji. “What do you think?”

Neji watched the wall for some time, contemplating. “We move,” Neji decided.

The younger agreed. He only wanted to make sure they were on the same page. He turned toward the kind woman that took them in and treated them as her own. “Thank you for everything you’ve given us these past two days. We’ve got to get going now though.” He bowed respectfully before the woman and Neji did the same and shared his verbal gratitude before passing the woman to continue their journey to wherever it is they were going. Shikamaru stood and watched at how quickly the Hyuga had moved on. He took one last look at the woman who was still dumbfounded by the dam’s falling. He gave a nod as a final gesture goodbye before catching up to the elder shinobi.

“Wait!” A deep, grizzly voice called out.

The two turned to see the outsiders coming towards them carrying a number of things in their hands. The injured man from the night before emerged from the group of people. He was patched up and taking slow steps. He wore a genuine smile. “Thank you. I told the people of your deed. He’s even gotten rid of the water tax! We no longer have to pay taxes to a man who places no money in a land separate from his own. I thought that the least we could do is offer you a few of our belongings.” The man said, extending a hand to where the people stood ready to offer the items they brought along with them.

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck and smiled softly. “You don’t have to give us anything, your hospitality was great, all we could ask for.”

“Nonsense,” the man waved the crazy idea away as if it were dust floating about in the air. “Here, I see you’re traveling without a bag, right? Take this one,” he said as a girl stepped forward carrying a navy-blue satchel that could carry plenty of staples. It made up for the one lost at the hands of some animal days ago.

“Have some carbohydrates to hold you over when you travel,” a baker said as he dropped a loaf of bread into their new satchel.

“You looked like you needed new shoes, young man.” Shikamaru smiled at what he assumed to be a cobbler. The sole of one of his shoes was holding on by a thread. “Here take those off and I’ll slip these on.” She lowered herself to the grass and waited for the Nara to remove them as told.

“You don’t have to…”

“Take them off.” She sinisterly smiled up to the shadow-nin getting him to comply in an instant. She latched them on and everything. Shikamaru smiled uneasily.

“Thanks.” He said. The woman bowed and stepped aside for multiple children to make their offerings. They each raced up to the Nara who held the satchel and tossed in coin after coin. Eventually, the metal began to pick up weight. “Thank you, guys.” He smiled down at the children making the one girl of the group blush. She flashed her uneven smile that was missing a number of teeth, still it was a sweet smile.

“Have a change of clothes, too. I hope I got your sizes right.”

“Take some more bread.”

“Have some of my water.”

“Hair ties to keep that mop out of your face.” One woman said, handing them to Neji. 

“Bandages just in case.”

“I can give you some of my spare change.”

“Folks, folks! They’re traveling. We can’t load them down with too much weight now.” The previously injured man stopped the flow of offerings. “Besides, they’ve probably got somewhere to be heading right about now, so how about we let them be?”

“We appreciate everything you have given us. None of it will go to waste. We were in dire need of everything that has been provided to us today.” Neji spoke out.

“If you ever need us, come by and we’ll help.”

Neji bowed as Shikamaru tried to haul the bag over his shoulder. He did it successfully, but not effortlessly. The villagers started back to their homes except for the girl who had been flustered by the Nara’s apparent charm. She giggled and waved before running after a boy who seemed to be her brother. Shikamaru lifted a brow before the two shinobi steered off into the opposite direction.

“Do you need help carrying the bag?” Neji asked.

“…no. Unless, you wanna carry it, I’m not exactly dying to.”

“You do look like you are dying just carrying it.” Neji said.

“You’re actually a funny guy, Hyuga. I just don’t think you know it.” Shikamaru pointed out as they walked.

“Nothing about me is humorous, but I am interested in what else it is you think you see in me, Nara.”

“You seem distant.”

When Neji didn’t answer, Shikamaru simply continued. “You know. You don’t seem to really form any attachment to much, just distant kind of.”

“It is best to refrain from any feelings of attachment when you are in the ninja line of business, especially if you are on the run.”

“Yeah, okay that makes sense, but I mean overall.”

“If it changes anything, I would be upset if something were to happen to you.” Neji assured as they came to the end of the forest. They found themselves at the beginning of what seemed to be an open grass plain. First, they were faced with a rolling hill that blocked their view of what was on the other side. They began to climb the slope.

“I’d hope. I mean if you were just unbothered, it would only confirm my idea of you being some psychopath.”

“Do you believe that because of the night in the lab?” Neji asked.

That was not where the Nara was trying to take it. In fact, it wasn’t what he meant at all. “No, no I meant how you seem to never feel anything. It’s crazy how things seem to roll off of you most of the time.”

“I see. Allowing outside things corrupt your mind and being is a sign of weakness in my clan.”

“Emotions aren’t a crime. Keeping a level head is overrated if you ask me. After a while, wouldn’t you convince yourself that you can’t feel? I mean being human means you’re going to have a reaction to things around you, it’s how we survive. Even if your responses aren’t noticeable, stuff still turns back in your subconscious you know. Your subconscious is where a lot of deeper, unconscious thinking happens,” he took a break from climbing and dropped the bag. He allowed his head to fall back then closed his eyes as the sun grazed it. “The subconscious is responsible for a lot of decisions and actions we take or make. It’s crazy really. Your conscious is only sea level of your mind’s knowledge and processing. Think of it as this huge iceberg. Whatever is under the water is every skill, feeling, distant memory and so on stacked in the back of your head.” He looked to Neji whose attention dropped to the grass. It seemed as if the Hyuga had wandered off into his mind and Shikamaru didn’t mind; he needed the break anyways. He dropped to the grass and drew his knees up, resting his arms on either one. He looked back to the forest that had held them for the past four days then laid against the ground. He intertwined his fingers and placed them under his head. His lids drifted shut as he listened to his surroundings, waiting for Neji to start moving again. He was surprised to hear the male sit down next to him.

“What happened in the lab,” Neji began, “was not me. It felt like an outer body experience. I was not aware of any desire within me to take my own life. It was not planned. It was…”

“Your subconscious probably.” Shikamaru finished the thought.

Neji looked to the shadow-nin that was now watching the clouds pass overhead.

“Based off of the stories I’ve heard about your clan, I figured life there could be pretty stressful if not dull, and since they don’t even let you guys express anything openly without judgement, it just makes it worse. Your pent-up anger, resentment and dissatisfaction with your living situation probably stacked up in the back of your mind without you knowing or realizing it was there in the first place. It happens you know. When it finally becomes too much, people forget everything else, who they are, where they are and what they’re doing and then they do something that they would never normally do, something crazy.” The Nara furrowed his brows at the clouds that casted shadows over them as he thought over his wording. He watched the sky with focus and only gave the conversation half of his attention, if not less.

“Where did you learn all of this?” Neji asked.

“I used to read up on psych every now and then just ‘cause.” He shrugged, but really, he knew why.

“You speak of it passionately. Was it an area of study you were thinking of pursuing?”

“No, my mom is just bat shit crazy and loses it sometimes and I always wanted to know why as a kid so I’d just go to the library and see what I could find. What happened with you in the closet sounded like a dissociation case.”

Neji picked a few blades of grass, “is she alright?”

Shikamaru scoffed, “Oh, yeah. She’s _fine_.”

“You were the one affected.” Neji thought figured from the boy’s tone.

“Mh,” Shikamaru shrugged and slightly shook his head, “I mean it was a thing that would get troublesome sometimes, but I mean she’s still my mom.”

Neji’s eyes wandered as he thought through Shikamaru’s words. Suppressed emotion can boil over in the subconscious. Dissociation. His clan. His mother, Shikamaru’s mother. “Are you okay?” He finally asked.

“She would just be there one minute and then the next she would be someone else, something else. It was so confusing. Why would you have a kid knowing you’re insane and always crying for attention? I had to do everything for her. All she did was make me feel like I’m walking on eggshells. There was a point where I avoided her like the plague and a few times where I’d go home and hope that she’d just be normal if I just did everything I was told and _more_. I didn’t know what was wrong with her and the only thing we _could_ do was try and seek professional help, but my old man kept saying she wouldn’t like that and it turned out she didn’t think she needed the help, it was like I was the only one there every time she lost her shit. It wouldn’t stop either and the longer she was left alone, the crazier she would get, but even if I were home all day, every day, something would still set her off so I had no clue where to go when it came to her. We kept her insanity as some family secret, not even the rest of the clan knows. She hardly leaves the house, unlike my father. Once he leaves, he stays gone for some time off to we don’t even know where, but the woman swears she can’t breathe without him. She’s obsessive. Even he feels suffocated around her, it’s all just a drag,” he placed his palms against his eyes, “but when he would leave, everything would get worse. She wasn’t only crazy, she’d get physical and…” he exhaled steadily, “shit.” He didn’t intend to spill his guts out to some guy he’s never bothered to speak to before both of their lives were in possible danger. He felt exposed and bare. No part of him wanted to remove the palms from his eyes. He imagined the Hyuga eyeing him as if he were the one who had really lost his mind “Sorry.” He rested his arm across both of his eyes, shielding his lids from being penetrated by the sun light. The trigger for the sudden avalanche had been the simple question of if Shikamaru, himself, was okay, not anyone else, just him. It seemed to be a rarely asked question to the Nara. He wished Neji had never asked it. A while after, it was silent which made the discomfort really settle in. He thought about grabbing the bag and continuing his trek up the hill until he felt a hand rested gently against the arm that covered his eyes. The light touch turned into faint grip, one that was an attempt at being reassuring. Shikamaru eased his arm from over his eyes and laid it against the grass, allowing Neji’s hand to slip lower against the extremity. He felt cool fingers wrap around his wrist. He laid there and let the other do whatever it was he was trying to do if it meant his face wasn’t the center of attention. He was still visibly upset by mentioning his mother. Just speaking her name brought up all of the old things, everything unsettling from his adolescence. He felt two fingers pressing into the pulse of his wrist. Neji then lied down next to the Nara and looked to the skies after releasing his hand. Shikamaru knew that speaking of his childhood would make his pulse pick up and Neji had felt it. He should not be the one to speak of suppressed emotion, he had been doing it himself without even being aware. He simply believed that he was not as affect as he truly was deep down.

“A kunai.” Neji said suddenly.

Shikamaru was confused by the ninja tool’s mention until Neji pointed upwards to the clouds that passed them by. “That one looks a bit like one is all.”

The shadow-nin gazed up at the sky. He appreciated that Neji had shifted the attention. He knew the Hyuga hadn’t simply disregarded what he had said, he could just tell that it was something the Nara didn’t want lingering in the air for too long. Either that or he just wasn’t the best at talking to someone who was in any sort of emotional distress given his background. Shikamaru felt a small smile form on his face and looked to the cloud that the elder had pointed out. “Kinda,” he shrugged, feeling the slightest bit lighter for the first time in a long time.


	32. Chapter 32

He opened his eyes to find the sky at midday. The temperature had risen ever so slightly, still the grassy hill kept a cool climate overall. Shikamaru sat up and looked to his side to find that Neji was no longer there beside him. He looked to his other side and got the same result. He stood and looked down the slope where the edge of the forest stood. Nothing. He spun around and could not locate the Hyuga no matter where he looked. He walked up the rest of the hill and found flat grassland stretched out for miles. Most importantly, he found Neji. The Hyuga sat meditating, still as ever. Shikamaru stared at the male, unsure of what to think. Waking up without knowing of his whereabouts had shaken him a bit, but more than he thought it ever would. He knew they were in this together, but still his unexpected absence had been disheartening.

Neji opened his eyes and looked to the younger shinobi. He was calm as always. He stood swiftly and closed most of the distance between them. “Are you ready?”

Shikamaru stared at him for a bit longer before he came up with the words, “how long have I been out?”

The Hyuga turned to look at the sun that was a hair away from setting, “Some hours.” Neji was unsure himself because for a large portion of Shikamaru’s nap, he had meditated.

The shadow-nin kept his eyes on Neji. Once the elder boy turned his back to him, Shikamaru could see the grass blades that had latched on to his hair. He began to remove them one by one with the haze of sleepiness making the gesture seem more casual then it normally would have been.

The feeling of something tugging lightly surprised Neji, making him turn to face the Nara. “What are you doing?” He asked. Shikamaru paused for a second but kept his eyes on the grass that remained on his ends. He reached to Neji’s side and removed another blade from the strands that fell at the waist. He pinched a few hairs in between his fingers and lifted them to his eyes so he could pick the blades out precisely. Though the touch was a bit strange to him, Neji watched the Nara carefully remove the grass from his mane and silently appreciated how careful he was with each bit.

“Turn around,” Shikamaru said.

Neji turned but was hesitant because he was still unsure of why the Nara was doing such a thing. It was a kind gesture. Maybe focusing on small details such as removing the blades one by one helped clear the shadow-nin’s mind. “Where do we go from here?” Neji asked.

“I don’t know.” Shikamaru admitted quietly in a deep groan produced from his grogginess.

Though it was discouraging, Neji couldn’t expect the Nara to know every inch of the outside world so they would have to improvise together. “Do you have an idea of what region we are in?” He asked.

“From the looks of it, we were just in the Land of Rivers. We could still be in it right now, I’m just unsure of where it stops and where the Wind region begins.”

Neji thought for a few moments. He became glad that the younger had chosen to take this journey with him. He was adept at geography and had an excellent memory. Both have been used to their advantage and will prove to be incredibly helpful from then on. He still wondered why the Nara risked worsening his reputation as opposed to going back home. Something told him the fear alone was not his only motive. He thought back to what the shadow-nin had said about his parents. Surely if he were to go back now, he would have a long life of caring for the woman which seemed to be a daunting task given the stories he told. Not only that, but he would have to do it alone given that his father seemed rather neglectful.

“There. You should just tie your ends with one of the hair ties the guy in the village gave us. Here, I’ll go get the bag and we can keep trekking.” He stretched and swayed around, making his way back down the hill with a yawn. Neji watched the male curiously until he could no longer see him past the edge of the flat grass plain.

“You know,” the Nara called up, “I think that lady – back at the barn? – think she might have taken us further north in the Land of Rivers.” He walked back up the hill and stopped by Neji. “It would explain all of the rain and the sudden grass plain. If I’m right, we’re going to be coming across these a lot the further we go. Where do you want to go?”

Neji had no clue. He figured it did not matter as long as they steered clear of Konohagakure. He could not point to where they were even if a map was provided. It was a lesson that was brushed over in the academy. “Wherever is best,” he said.

“Oh, well it depends. You want to see some birds or some waterfalls?” Shikamaru asked. “We go further west then we might catch see some exotic birds along the way, we go east and we’ll see some pretty cool waterfalls I’m guessing.”

Neji still stared to the grass with his arms folded. “Which is further from Konoha?”

“The Land of Birds.”

“We will go there.” Neji decided.

“Alright,” Shikamaru said. He walked back down the hill, towards the forest of which they had just finally escaped. Neji watched from behind. “Oh yeah, we’re going to have to cut back through some of these woods to get there. Imagine going straight and taking a right when the Land of Birds was on the left, that’s basically what we did so we’re going to have to retrace a few steps.”

The Hyuga dreaded going back into the overwhelming flat of endless trees but if it means getting away, then he would be more than willing to do it.

They stepped over roots, pushed through bushes, and observed the foreign vegetation.

“I did travel to the Land of Birds once. I was sent there on a mission,” Neji said from behind the Nara.

“Yeah? What happened?”

“There was a group of wandering ninja attempting to conquer the country by posing as a cursed warrior spirit. I suppose to scare the people into submission.” The Hyuga explained.

Shikamaru let out a light chuckle, “That’s the best one I’ve heard, I’ll admit. It’s crazy what people do for power.” He held up a leaning branch to keep from hitting his head and continued holding it for the male trailing behind him. Neji stepped forward, taking the lead.

“It is unfortunate, but true. That is why so many people dislike us ninja. There are a number of us that abuse our power to make the weaker serve us.”

“They should make it harder to become a ninja, in my opinion.” Shikamaru said.

“I agree.”

Both men continued to walk through the forest. They heard a noise in the distance and Neji was quick to activate his dojutsu only to find a small animal in the distance. He fell at ease and continued on their path. They stepped around a large log that appeared to be part of what once was an ancient tree, now a home to a variety of forest dwellers. The canopy held small openings and relatively thin leaves casting rays of sunlight, both golden and green. Their break on the grass plain had taken up hours neither one could count, and the sun was already sinking below the horizon hidden by the trees before them.

“Well?” Shikamaru asked.

Neji turned to look back at the Nara questioningly.

“What did you see when you looked over there?”

Neji continued walking, “a small animal.” He answered. “I would have told you, but I did not want you to kill it,” he said with a flat face. Truthfully, he just did not think it was worth mentioning. He figured that if he did not make a fuss out of what his eyes came across, then it should be proof enough that it was irrelevant.

Shikamaru eyed the Hyuga from behind. He flattened his lips as his eyes rounded with mild concern. “Are you… mad about what happened?” Shikamaru asked. He narrowed his eyes, “It was only for our survival, Neji. I mean unless you just wanted to roast leaves and…”

The Hyuga turned around nearly making Shikamaru bump into him. He placed his hands on the Nara’s shoulders and looked him in the eyes, “I was joking, Shikamaru.”

They stood there, looking directly into each other’s eyes for a minute. Shikamaru tried to see if Neji was telling the truth.

“I know you did it to help us and I was greatly appreciative of it. I could not have done it myself; I admit. Your skills seem to be the key to our survival in this situation,” Neji continued.

“See I knew you were a funny guy.” Shikamaru grinned as if he was never on the verge of starting an argument only seconds before, before taking the lead. Neji watched in confusion as he passed him by.

“Why do you say that?” Neji asked honestly.

Shikamaru turned to face him, “Because you _are_ , Neji. I’m starting to think you don’t know yourself at all. Come on, we’ll go a little while longer, but I’m kinda beat. I know I just woke up from a long nap, but that’s just me I guess.” He knew that Neji was the one who truly needed rest after his shift of night watch.

Neji never thought of it. He would have never even attempted a joke in his old life. Looking back on their time away from Konoha, he didn’t recognize who he was at all. Getting away had changed him. In Konoha he knew of times where he had sudden thoughts and urges that he found unsuitable for a person such as himself, a person who comes from an honorable clan such as the Hyuga clan, a person his age, even. He would suppress anything he felt would not pass with his clan. Looking back, those times of spontaneous feeling, preferences, desires, and ideas seemed to simply be who he was, his own given personality. A part of him he had been trying to push down to maintain a clean, professional image. He never acted out by his own will or whim, it was always according to what his clan thought he should do or be. He didn’t know which of his actions were due to his own person or due to years of his clan’s molding. He may have never even been his own person. Even having realized that just now, he still shook the idea. Something told him to ignore it and move on. Something that still may have been the stern voice of his old superiors in Konoha. He had trouble grasping the fact that he was no longer under their rule. Because of this, the Hyuga had no idea of who Neji Hyuga truly was.


	33. Chapter 33

“Do not move. It will grow bored and move on its own.” Neji said.

“Well it’s taking its sweet time to get bored and he’s kinda heavy. He’s gonna have to make a move before I do.” Shikamaru warned. Minutes ago, a bright, orange bird with a long tail perched itself on top of the Nara’s head and has refused to move.

“Are you going to kill it?” Neji asked.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes at the comment then considered it. “Maybe,” he said under his breath.

“Okay, I will try to remove it, do not move,” Neji said as he eased his way over to the creature, careful not to scare it. The large bird let out a threatening hiss at the Hyuga’s advances causing Neji to freeze. He looked to the boy beneath the bird, “It hisses.”

The Nara sighed, “It’s claws feel like they’re breaking the blood brain barrier.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“I don’t know, something, anything, just get it off of my head, my neck can’t take all this weight,” Shikamaru plead pitifully. He was blasted in the face by a gust of wind. He opened his eyes to see Neji in a position that told him he had performed the air palm technique.

“Let’s go before it comes back,” Neji said before walking further into the Land of Birds.

Shikamaru stood, holding the bag as he breathed heavily. The sudden force had been unexpected and difficult to breathe through, but he was glad to have his head back. He tensed up at the sound of a bird call that soon multiplied into multiple.

“Do you hear that?” Neji asked peering out at the diverse forestry.

“Yes.” It wasn’t exactly a noise Shikamaru cared for after what had just happened. Before he knew it, Neji was steering off on to his own direction all over again without sharing a word. He seemed to be directed by the Byuakugan. “Neji, where are you going?” He found himself following after the Hyuga all over again. It was becoming a reoccurring thing seemed like. “Neji.” Shikamaru called again from behind. Neji threw open vines that draped down from high branches and disappeared behind them. He never thought of the elder to be the adventurous type, but then again, he figured that Neji himself didn’t either. He took a deep breath and opened the curtain of vines and found a haven of many different types of birds. Some were large, small, multicolored, unicolored, ground birds, flight birds. They were all coexisting in one area filled with different types of trees, types from all over the land. There were crystal clear springs and single vines hanging from the dome of leaves above. Neji didn’t see any human within the area. It was simply untouched by man and left to flourish. The calls from the different species harmonized and complimented each other nicely. The air was sweet from the fruits that hung overhead. Yes, he had been to the Land of Birds before, but he was not able to see the land as this. He was only assigned to the village to investigate the rumor of the warrior spirit and return safely. He did not get the chance to step out from the mission and see the Land of Birds as everything it truly was. After minutes of staring in awe, he dropped his gaze to Shikamaru who stood feet away. He caught the Nara’s eyes aimed directly towards him.

Shikamaru took his turn to marvel at their surroundings after watching the Hyuga’s reaction to the landscape. Knowing what the elder has grown to know and hate, the genuine look of enjoyment from him was just about as moving as the dome itself. A black bird with blues and purples in its wings swooped past the Nara, followed by smaller versions of itself. Two, green wingless birds ran across their feet. Another group of birds, yellow this time with light blue beaks floated peacefully in the water. Neji watched each species perform its niche and exist in the habitat.

“Amazing,” the Hyuga thought aloud. Soon the glint in his eye dimmed, “Someone is coming.”

They took cover behind a large stone covered in bird droppings, but it beat staying in the open.

“Round them up,” they heard a deep voice say. Soon after, they heard the panic of the birds squawking and chirping. They heard nets being launched and cages being shut. “Alright that’s it for now.” They heard what seemed to be dozens of men leaving the area. The environment turned chaotic. Mothers were separated from their offspring and vice versa. The birds that could fly swarmed the air, the ones that couldn’t dashed from place to place looking for those who had been taken.

Neji looked to Shikamaru. The Nara stood and wrapped leaves and fallen vines over their bag and headed towards the dome’s entrance.

“Where are you going?” Neji asked for a change.

“We’re gonna go save them. I’m assuming that’s what that look was for,” he called back.

Neji hadn’t expected him to be so quick to go along with it. The Nara took a stance before Neji even realized he wanted to free the birds of their cages. Shikamaru had learned who the Hyuga was before the Hyuga was able to learn himself.


	34. Chapter 34

They waited until night to creep through the grand settlement of a village. It was developed greatly and held technology not yet introduced to Konoha such as elevators that were constructed similarly to a birdcage. They used it to rise up to where they assumed the birds were being kept. It was a large, windowless building, mostly featureless besides the outer, metallic, rusted balconies joined by ladders to provide movement from one floor to the next. There were single wall lights on each of the building’s four walls. The lighting, however, was insufficient for the grand size of the building.

“See them?” Shikamaru asked.

Neji deactivated his dojutsu once they reached the top floor, “They are all inside.”

Shikamaru picked the lock with a piece of scrap metal he found on the ground near the elevator upon arriving, giving them access to what was on the other side. They kept the door open so the birds could find their way out. They opened cage after cage quickly and swiftly for about half an hour. As they moved on to a different cage, they could hear the flapping of wings as the birds took off one by one, some carrying those that were flightless. It gave each male a strange rush. They knew they were doing the right thing but in a stressful environment. They both knew that they were not as discreet as they could have been entering the town. Any moment now, someone could walk up and ask them what they were doing, it was risky. Neji rushed over and lowered himself to where Shikamaru sat, unlocking his current cage. “Someone is coming.” Neji warned.

“How many cages are left?” Shikamaru asked.

Neji looked over as much of the room that he could see with the aid of the moonlight coming in from the door. He then moved quickly to try and undo the rest of the cages. On the last one however, he began to have trouble. The lock seemed to be welded together for some odd reason. Because the cage was in the very back, it was too dark for the Hyuga to see what the container had inside. It was a relatively large cage, too. Still, he wanted to free it from its restraints. Shikamaru rushed over and tried to assist. He looked around to see what he could spot in the dark.

“Hey!” They heard a voice coming from down the balcony, they had seconds. Shikamaru found a light switch and turned it on, stinging his eyes but helping him locate large, heavy-set clampers along the wall. He tripped over an empty cage in his rush but remained upright. He ripped the tool from its shelf and used it to break the metal of the cage. Out, flew a magnificent being. Its wingspan had to be about ten feet. Its feathers were a brilliant orange that wore red at the ends. Its beak and talons were black, and its call was the mightiest one they’ve heard so far. It looked like the one that perched itself on the Nara’s head in the forest but was greater in size. One flap of its wings sent a strong breeze over both shinobi. It fled the prison and left the two boys there in amazement. Neji breathed heavily from the thrill. Shikamaru stood still watching the animal disappear into the sky.

“We need to go,” Neji said quietly as if the realization had just hit him right then. Shikamaru nodded and they took off for the door where a man grabbed Neji by the arm and pulled him back.

“What were you doing in there?” The newcomer asked. Neji looked to him. “A Hyuga.” The man stared in shock. Neji yanked his arm to his side and held his leg out to trip the man, freeing his wrist from the stranger’s grip. “Hey! We’ve got outsiders up here!”

“Yikes,” Shikamaru said before both shinobi took to the roofs to escape

“I should have known better than to look him in the eye,” Neji complained.

“It’s not your fault your folks are so famous you know.”

“Still.”

“Still what?” The Nara pressed on. “We made it. We freed those birds. I mean they’ll probably be back in cages next week, but for now they’re in a better place. Think about that instead of beating yourself up.”

Neji hummed at the idea briefly and thought of it from Shikamaru’s point of view. It was not his fault that his clan was well-known. Still, he should have known better than to look right into the man’s eye. He would be more careful of that from now on. “Do you think the largest one was the mother of the one from the forest?” Neji asked.

“Oh, the one that made itself comfortable on my head? Without a doubt. The resemblance was strong so was the hiss at the end of its roar.”

Neji allowed a small smile to rest on his face.

“I think this was good for both parties,” Shikamaru said having glanced over at the other briefly.

The two made it out of the town’s territory without a scratch. Shikamaru bared his hands against his knees as he tried to catch his breath. He heard the thud of Neji falling against the ground next to him. “Neji?” He looked over the Hyuga to find the man wearing the looks of satisfaction and relief on his face. “Neji?” He asked again, “You okay?”

Neji sat up. “Yes,” he said plainly, switching back to his usual demeanor instantly.

Shikamaru clicked his tongue, “Now I’m gonna have to pick your hair clean all over again.” He said squatting behind Neji. He saw Neji’s shoulders move in a way that was a sign of laughter though he did not hear the slightest bit of a chuckle come from the male before him. He stopped his hands from touching Neji’s hair when the movement started. “Are you choking?!” The Nara exclaimed.

That’s when he heard it. Neji’s laughter. It was a sound unfamiliar to either one of their ears, but it wasn’t uninvited. It was real, it was uplifting. Neji looked over his shoulder to look at the Nara. “You don’t have to remove it, I can.” He said it so simply as if his laughter was not something alien to them. “What?” He asked, his smile faded as he watched the Nara study him. It was gone.

“You…” Shikamaru shook his head, “Nothing. What was so funny anyways?”

“Nothing.” Neji shrugged and searched the ground as if it held the answers.

“So, what was with the uproar out of nowhere?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe the answer is in my subconscious.” Neji considered seriously as he reconnected his eyes with Shikamaru’s. They found themselves staring at one another all over again. Shikamaru snorted triggering Neji’s smile. Both went off into a fit of laughter together unsure of what it was either of them were humored by. Their best bet was probably the insanity the risk of sabotaging those in a foreign land had driven them to, but neither of them really knew.


	35. Chapter 35

The land’s birds are what brought Neji back to the world around him. He sat up and looked all around him. The Nara was nowhere to be found. He frowned in confusion. He stood and stretched to get rid of the tensions from his sleeping position.

“Morning.” Shikamaru emerged from the trees in new clothing, slid down into the trench-like area the Hyuga was in and walked right up to Neji. The Nara was dressed in a loose black top tucked into large tan pants that he had to cuff at the ankles. He bit his lip when he caught sight of the Hyuga’s head. It was his best bet at holding back his laughter. He looked away, “looks like you slept on one side all night,” he said with a straight face.

Neji gripped matted strands in one hand and straight, kempt ones in the other.

“It’s fine, here. I was thinking we could maybe go out to the Land of Vegetables, it’s a straight shot from here.” Shikamaru opened the bag and pulled out the spare clothes given to them by the villagers back in the Land of Rivers.

Neji watched the Nara call all the shots at this point. He seemed to be the only one knowing what they were doing after all. He knew where they were at all times and he always knew what course of action they should take. Not only that, but he was well equipped to survive outdoors for a while as well. “Thank you,” Neji said, interrupting Shikamaru’s verbal planning.

“For what?”

“We wouldn’t have gotten this far if it weren’t for you. _I_ wouldn’t have gotten this far.” Neji said as he walked out of the naturally formed trench they were in. He located a lake in order to cleanse himself. Shikamaru followed him and continued his thoughts.

“Yeah, no problem,” the Nara said, not wanting to take credit for simply doing what he should’ve done. “I was thinking,” he turned around at the sight of Neji removing his clothing, “maybe if we kept a different mindset, this whole thing could – I don’t know – be less of a drag?” He proposed. He heard the Hyuga enter the water behind him then turned to look. He didn’t see Neji at first until the male poked his head out of the water.

“I’m sorry?” The elder asked.

Shikamaru walked to the lakeside and took a seat. He leaned back against his hands. “What if we just traveled from place to place. Kinda like touring almost, move from place to place instead of making Konoha our motive all the time. It just sounds less stressful.” He leaned forward and watched sand spill from in between his fingers. “You know?” He added inaudibly.

Neji slowly waded to the lake side and looked up at Shikamaru. He nodded at the idea. It did sound nice to just pretend like they weren’t on the run. He wondered what sparked the Nara’s change in outlook and spirit. Doing the same may benefit him as well. They have gone so far, each passing day made it harder and harder for his clan to catch up. In addition to that, both shinobi were sealed from the vision of the Byakugan. Living in constant stress would harm them more in the long run than the Hyuga clan would if they found the two. He lowered himself into the water until only his eyes were above the water’s surface. Shikamaru watched him and Neji felt his eyes, but they did not bother him.

“We’ll be okay,” Shikamaru said.

. . .

They had long removed themselves from the lake side and been traveling for hours speaking of frivolous things such as the objects around them, possible weather for the next few days, what the people would be like in the Land of Vegetables, until a different topic presented itself. “How long do you think we will continue relocating?” Neji asked. It was a question that tossed around on and off in both of their minds. He looked to Shikamaru when he didn’t answer right away.

“Depends,” the Nara looked up to the sliver of the sky that was visible from between the trees, “how badly does your clan want to keep their secret from escaping?”

“They would kill in order to keep it from reaching an outsider’s hands, but I meant as far as hiding.” Neji said. “How long will we continue to relocate before choosing a place permanently?”

Permanently. It was a word that triggered Shikamaru’s suppressed memory of reality. This was permanent. There was no going back and even if they did, things were bound to be different from then on. They had outwardly disrespected the Hyuga clan. There was no coming back from that. He cleared his throat. “We’ll wait it out. If the bulk of their search party is being provided by the Hokage, then eventually we won’t be the center of attention anymore. It should die down, maybe not completely but somewhat. However long that would take, I’m not sure. But when the time feels right, we can think about settling down somewhere.” Their future seemed so uncertain, so uneasy and complex. “Okay?” He looked to Neji calmly as if the plan he provided was steel in his own mind. Truthfully, he only responded just for the sake of responding. He was just about as lost as the other.

Neji nodded.

“I meant to ask you,” Shikamaru wanted to shake the uncertainty from him as soon as it was thrown out on to the table. “You don’t have to answer, of course, but what was it that made you break out that night? What made you run?”

“He claimed to have learned some time ago that I no longer had the curse mark. I am not sure on how he found out, but he did. He came to me in the middle of the night and began to threaten me. He told me he knew of my secret, so I began to suspect you of telling him.” Neji began.

“I didn’t…” Shikamaru began to swear on his word but was cut off.

“I was angry at you in the moment.” Neji looked past the other male. “I didn’t know what you would have gained from telling which is why I am willing to consider that it was not you. The amount you have helped me from the night in the village up until now has helped your case tremendously. Your assistance has made it hard to see you as someone who would betray me in that regard.” Neji looked back to the Nara, “I told myself that before the lab incident, I had no way of knowing who Shikamaru Nara was – his personality, morals, ethics. I didn’t know who you were.” After digging his eyes into the Nara’s skull, he wrapped the conversation back around to the initial question. “The Hyuga elder that night demanded that I tell him how I achieved it – my freedom of the seal. He said that he would beat me if I did not tell the truth and that he did not need the curse mark to inflict damage if need be. He pulled my hair, lifting it away from my face to get a look at my bare forehead just to solidify his claim. I remember him scowling deeply. He released me and stared for a while. I kneeled before him to show my respect and keep matters from getting worse. I felt him above me, staring down. He told me that if I knew what was best for me that I would tell him everything then take my own life within the next twenty-four hours. I assumed it would be to keep the knowledge from being spread any further than it could have been already. Once you know how to break a seal, you could do it again. By taking my own life, it keeps the clan’s name clean of any executions they may be suspected of carrying out. Knowing the Hyuga, they might have even called my absence a case of a missing person rather than a loss just to uphold their image.” The further he explained, the more bitter his tone became. Neji gripped his own sleeve after crossing his arms against his chest. “They care greatly about how others see them. I believe they do not exactly wish to be feared; they wish to be respected. Hearing him tell me to take my own life like it was nothing, I felt something sharp within me. It felt wrong. Just as my father served as a place holder for Lord Hiashi, I saw how easily he would discard of me as well. I blacked out and it escalated into a sort of fight that made us stumble out of my room which is where I assume you first noticed us. Not knowing whether or not you told of my missing curse mark was a reason behind my reluctance to follow you that night. You know the rest after that.”

Shikamaru’s eyes draped over the forest floor as he processed the information. “Neji, I…”

“Let’s try to get as far as we can before the day ends.” Neji said. He immediately took the lead without further discussion.

Shikamaru knew he had nothing to use to defend himself against Neji’s accusation. He could feel that the Hyuga didn’t want to believe the Nara would rat him out, still it certainly looked to be that way. There was just no other way for the man to have found out unless one of them told him directly. Still, the shadow-nin had no way of proving he did in fact keep quiet about it. However, it did pose the new question of how the Hyuga elder in the village found out. Shikamaru began to ponder as he followed behind Neji. It was strange and, in a way, eerie.


	36. Chapter 36

Neji carried a woven basket full of harvested produce through a field of tall corn stalks. They went on for miles and miles beaten down on by the merciless sun. He wore the extra change of clothing provided by those in the Land of Rivers and a straw hat to shield his eyes. The clothing was of a white, airy shirt, loose on the torso and wide at the sleeves. His bottoms were a faded beige tied at the waist by a piece of discarded rope. He was grateful that the clothing was fit for the climate of the Land of Vegetables. He heard the buzzing of the summer’s insects and another faint sound.

“Pst.”

Neji stopped walking and looked around for whatever produced the sound. It was obviously not one of nature.

“Hey.”

He heard movement in the stalks that formed a forest of corn next to him.

“Come here,” Shikamaru whispered.

Neji looked around to see if anyone was watching. The precaution was unnecessary. It was only the two of them on the plantation. He stepped off the beaten, dirt path and into the stalks. He welcomed the little bit of shade the tall plants provided in patches.

“I don’t mind helping civilians, but how long are we going to do this?” The Nara asked. Somewhere down the line of traveling into the Land of Vegetables, there was an elderly man in desperate need of some helping hands harvesting the year’s produce. Only, neither shinobi imagined it to be acres and acres of land nor did either one have the heart to call it off and walk away. Hours into the hard labor, Shikamaru had broken out into a good sweat and was in desperate need of a break. He placed his hoeing tool into the dirt and leaned against it as he looked Neji up and down, “how the hell are you not sweating?”

Neji placed the basket of produce on the ground and removed his hat. He took the Nara’s hair from its tie and placed the hat in its place. “We can try a different method.”

“Or we could leave.” Shikamaru suggested.

Neji formed the necessary hand signs for shadow clones. Shikamaru dropped his head as they appeared one by one. “We can cover more ground this way.”

“Yeah, I’ve thought about it, but I didn’t want our cover to be blown.” The shadow-nin said, wiping his forehead.

“It is unlikely that we would be noticed. We are the only ones on the plantation.” Neji said after surveying the area using the Byakugan.

Shikamaru stared at each clone of Neji and thought for a while. He sighed as he formed the hand sign for the very jutsu he fought tooth and nail against for hours. Both shinobi scattered their new men across the acres of land making the work much more efficient. They were now working six times faster than before.

The Nara bent over to clip another cobb of corn from its stock when the visions of one of his clones was sent his way. The clone had neutralized itself. “Neji!” He called out at a medium volume. He heard the ruffling of leaves grow in volume as the Hyuga came towards him from a distance.

“What is it?” He asked.

“One of my clones was seen. We need to get rid of them before it happens again. For some reason, the farmer came back.” Shikamaru said.

“Forgive me. I was not keeping an eye on our surroundings as much as I should have. The man is miles from us. You have two clones in that general direction, I can sense them, but I cannot see them because of the seal,” he informed before taking off to neutralize his own. He ran swiftly through the towering vegetation and turned to come face to face with the man who hired them.

“Hello, there,” the small man greeted with a smile.

Neji tensed and stepped back. There was no possible way he could have gone from point A to point B that quickly. He would have had to teleport the minute the Hyuga deactivated his dojutsu.

“No need to be alarmed, honey. Something told me you two were ninja. I once was myself.”

. . .

The man closed the door to his oven and faced the newcomers that sat at his kitchen table. Both leaf ninja gazed at the ground at a loss for words. The man had insisted he cook for them for their hard work. What he didn’t know was that they had both decided to leave the town once the meal was finished.

“I fought in the third shinobi war; you know. I was much stronger back in those days. One thing that never fails me now is my speed as I’m sure you’ve seen,” he nodded in Neji’s direction. He observed both of their expressions and found them empty of warmth and comfort. “Why are you two so down?” He frowned and took his back off of the counter behind him. He stepped toward the table. “You know I’m not going to hurt you two, right?” He pulled out a seat for himself and looked from one shinobi to the other. “Look, I know you’re new to the area and I feel that the two of you hold great skills. I am not concerned for your reasoning of being here, trust me. I’m old, I really couldn’t care less, but please, rest here. I have a bed upstairs that you two can claim for the night. You both look worn after that hard shift on the farm.” He frowned. “I… ran.”

Neji looked to the man soon after the Nara did.

“I ran from the war, I felt I had no place in it. I was lucky enough to have escaped for good. No one ever found me out. Ever since then, I’ve been shacked up here living nicely on this planation. It’s a peaceful life, really. I know it’s shameful, but I was terrified, scared of what I’d lose or kill out there, so I fled. These days, though, I’m glad I did.” He smiled warmly.

The Hyuga looked to Shikamaru and vice versa. “Thank you,” Neji said, “we appreciate it.”


	37. Chapter 37

They lied side by side on the bed staring at the ceiling. The fuel-powered lantern on Shikamaru’s nightstand was all that illuminated the room. With the night came the crickets that sounded from outdoors.

“What do we do?” Shikamaru finally asked.

Neji opened his eyes, “Stay for one more day or two, then leave.”

Shikamaru’s mouth opened and closed as they formed around the words that he thought of saying. “What if something happens in those one or two days?”

“Something such as what?” Neji questioned as his eyes fell shut all over again.

“I don’t know. Such as someone recognizing us or the old man coming in and suffocating us with a pillow or something.” Shikamaru half joked.

Neji slowly reopened his eyes. He pondered on the Nara’s wording. He sat up and looked down at the male next to him. “Are you afraid of the man downstairs?” His voice was now a whisper.

“No, I’m just being me.”

“You are.” Neji shot right back without hesitation.

Shikamaru smiled and furrowed his brows at the quick response, “You’re acting like you know me.”

“I know you enough to know that you’re sarcastic with every chance you get. You seem to use jokes as coping mechanisms.” Neji pointed out.

“Damn. You’re not wrong,” the shadow-nin quietly admitted, remembering the time he joked about his mother throwing a wooden spoon at his eye during his time at the academy. He sat up and shifted until he faced the Hyuga. “What other ideas do you have about me, I’m genuinely curious.” He maintained his normally lazy expression that did not give much of a reading of what went on behind it.

“You are selfless, you are not one who cares much about socializing…” He tried to think of other characteristics the Nara has shown so far, “you’re observant…”

“Selfless?”

“Yes. You are. You proved it in the village and before then. In the lab, on the mission when I came in contact with a poisonous plant and now you use your knowledge to get us further.” Neji explained.

Shikamaru eyed Neji and leaned his head against his hand. “Selfless, huh. I mean if I didn’t use my head out here, I could’ve died, too, Neji.”

“Yes, that is true but so are the other things I listed.”

“Okay my turn,” the Nara rolled his shoulders, “You’re caged when it comes to potential and emotional freedom. You don’t know how to relax, and you don’t trust easily. You feel just about as safe as I do sitting in this room if not, less. You’re quick to check in with others before doing a self-evaluation.” He leaned in closer, “So, I’ll be the one to ask. Who are you, Neji Hyuga?” He asked.

Neji did not expect him to take the dive that he did. He openly stared at the male before him.

Watching how the Hyuga studied him, Shikamaru began to feel regretful. He felt that he may have crossed a line somewhere even though they’ve had the same conversation before.

“Who I am.” Neji thought aloud, capturing the Nara’s undivided attention. “What do you wish to know?”

“I don’t know, hobbies? Favorite foods, drinks? I don’t know,” Shikamaru said. He grabbed a pillow and dropped it in his lap. He bared his arms against it as he leaned forward, adopting a poor posture. “Pastimes?”

Neji dropped his eyes to the pillow that lay in the Nara’s lap. The longer Shikamaru looked at the elder, the more he became aware of Neji’s lack of an answer. “Okay, slim it down.”

Neji reconnected their eyes with a questioning look.

“Slim it down, sort out what you like least until something comes out on top. Start with hobbies.” Again, he could tell the Hyuga fell deep in thought. He really didn’t know. Shikamaru sighed, “start with pastimes.”

No response.

The Nara continued, “rock climbing, running, planting things, sewing, knitting, art, reading, writing, something music-related, training, what?”

“I meditate often,” Neji finally answered.

“Great, that’s a hobby. So, you have a hobby, you meditate. What about your palette? What does that look like? Considering your reaction to the extra spice the farmer put in tonight’s meal, you don’t have a high tolerance for it.” Shikamaru smirked.

“My response?” Neji asked.

“You didn’t eat much. I think you drank more than you ate actually.”

Neji lowered his head. “I did not intend to insult his act of kindness.” He mentally scolded himself.

“It’s fine, I’m sure he figured the same thing I did. So, you don’t like spice. How about sweets?” Shikamaru asked as a lied down on his side, head towards the foot of the bed.

“I do not eat them regularly.”

“What do you eat regularly? Something you never think twice about when you see it on the menu.” Shikamaru rolled on to his back and placed a hand underneath his head.

“I suppose…” Neji took his time thinking back on his own actions, “soba is usually my first choice.”

“Hm,” the Nara thought about the dish. There was never anything great about soba as long as Shikamaru has known it, but at least Neji knew right off for the most part. “What would be your last…”

“Anything with pumpkin.”

“Well did it hurt you? You responded like your life depended on it.” The Nara looked to Neji.

“I remember disliking the taste early on and ended up with food poisoning by the end of the day.”

“Was the taste that bad?”

“It was tolerable.”

“So, you got taste aversion, huh?” Shikamaru said through a tired smile.

“I suppose so. I remember it clearly. I woke up in the middle of the night with nausea and vomited all over my clothes and bed.”

Shikamaru half grimaced but then laughed because he couldn’t imagine any embarrassing childhood stories coming from Neji.

“My father cleaned everything. It’s one of my clearest memories of him apart from one snowball fight we had. I beat him but looking back on it he could have beaten me without batting an eye,” Neji shook his head as he reminisced.

Shikamaru watched Neji’s expressions change as he told the story. The Nara held a faint grin at the sight of something so rare. It was almost as if Neji never really revisited the memories of his happier youth.

“I believed that I could sneak behind him even though the snow crunched with each step I took. I jumped on to his back and crumbled my snowball over his head and was fully convinced that I had defeated my father.” The Hyuga began to smile as he told the tale. His eyes looked as if he were watching the memory play out on the bed. “He was kind. There were times when I didn’t recognize him, I remember, but for the most part, when I think of him, I see a kind man who sacrificed himself for the clan.” Neji caught Shikamaru’s eyes with his own and tilted his head. “His favorite food was soba.”

The Nara kept the eye contact. The warm display of emotion never left him and now both shinobi shared it. “He sounds like a nice guy.” Shikamaru said quietly.

Neji nodded as his smile softened his fatigued eyes. “He was.” He looked down for a second to conjure up his next words, “Shikamaru, was it you?” He sounded reluctant to ask.

The shadow-nin almost asked what he meant until realization sunk in. His smile faltered. “No, Neji.” He sat up in his previous criss-cross position. He sat the pillow to the side and leaned in close to make sure Neji looked him in the eye. He wanted the other to see his eyes were pure of lies. “I didn’t tell him. I would never. What happened was for you to sort out and I left you to it. I wouldn’t have gotten involved. Every time we parted after walking, I would go straight home. You’re the only Hyuga I’ve spoken to in weeks. Even then, I didn’t tell anyone else about the mark. Not Choji, not Ino,” Shikamaru lightly gripped Neji’s arm, “I swear.”

When the mood in the room dropped, the elder’s smile followed close behind. He looked from one of the Nara’s eyes to the other. He flattened his lips and nodded slowly. “I believe you.”

Shikamaru was shocked. He wasn’t sure if he believed that the Hyuga really did. Still, it was a relief to hear those words come from him. “Really?”

“Yes. I believe you. I had my doubts of it being you from the start.” Neji lied down with his head towards the foot of the bed, mirroring Shikamaru’s prior position. Only, his back was to the Nara. “He found out another way.”

Shikamaru searched the bed for reasoning. Neji must have known something the Nara wasn’t completely aware of. “Then, how…”

“He might have tried to activate the curse mark at some point. If that was not the reason, then he overheard us speaking which is highly unlikely. Though, it is odd to think of. I was so set on my uncle being the only one able to use it against me that I dismissed the possibility altogether.”

Shikamaru directed his attention to the boy next to him and lowered his back against the bed. “I’m sorry, Neji.” He had times where Neji’s robotic essence would irk him a little only for him to remember that, that was just how the Hyuga was raised.

“Don’t be,” Neji exhaled from an apparent yawn, “you have nothing to be sorry for. You have helped me more than I could ever repay you. Thank you.”

Shikamaru turned on to his side to face the Hyuga’s back. He saw how his waist-length hair fell against the mattress, revealing the pale skin of his neck and jaw. He then looked at the shorter hairs that stuck out from the nape.

Neji began to drift off into deep thought of their murky future when he felt gentle tugging at the back of his head. At first his eyes wandered at the sensation and he considered asking Shikamaru what he was doing but it felt nice. Shikamaru began easily toying with a few strands at a time until he freed the hair from its tie. What once was carefully handling a few hairs one by one turned into fingers fully raking themselves through the thick curtain. The strokes were long and slow, they were mesmerizing. Neji’s breath slowed signifying that he was entering the first wave of sleep. The Nara maintained a steady rhythm of movement as the elder began to feel himself drift from the world around them. 


	38. Chapter 38

“Hey, uh, where’s the watering pot?” Shikamaru asked, setting a large bag of fertilizer at the bottom of the shack’s porch steps. It was early and the sun had yet to reach the burning point. They figured working that time of the day would be less excruciating.

Neji looked over his shoulder as he dug holes for the new seeds, “I believe it should be near the front door.”

The Nara let out a hefty breath having hauled the bag a long way. He stepped up to the porch and found said watering pot right where the Hyuga had left it.

. . .

“I think you have a mole problem out here,” Shikamaru said over the brim of his mug.

“Oh, I don’t like to think of them as much of a problem. I’m not sure if you’ve seen but I have a surplus of stock here,” the farmer said with a wide grin to match the spread of his arms. “I mean from the sweat stains on that old raggedy shirt I lent you, it’s probable that you’ve seen just how much we’re growing here.”

Shikamaru froze with the mug before his mouth and deadpanned at the comment. To have _seen_ the produce would be an understatement. The stare broke with his chuckle which sent the farmer into a roar of laughter. The shadow-nin dropped the cup to the table and went off into his own delirious bit of laughter induced by his tiredness having worked under the sun all day.

Neji looked from the farmer to the Nara with a faint smile then sipped from his own mug.

. . .

“Starting to wonder if these people care anything for corn.” Shikamaru mumbled the next day, leaning against their stand counter. The two shinobi were sent out to sell their harvest further in town.

“I am sure it is still early. We still have time.” Neji said. He faced the street and watched as people continued to pass them by.

“No wonder why he has that surplus,” the Nara remarked.

Just then, a young girl walked towards the two men with a pink bicycle by her side. On it was a basket that held a bag full of something that could not be made out by the naked eye. “I’d like forty cobs please!” She said with a gapped smile. Her pigtails were short and lop-sided and threatened to fall a loose at any second as she reached into the basket to retrieve the bag. She held it up to Neji with a wide grin. The Hyuga then looked to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru, having just been proved wrong, looked at the girl in disbelief then to Neji. “Pft,” he waved his hand in the air telling Neji to deal with ringing the girl up.

Neji turned to retrieve the forty cobbs. Only, he wondered how the girl would get them all home by herself.

. . .

Neji, Shikamaru and the farmer decided to take a stroll to catch the sunset on the following warm afternoon. The farmer told the two of the town’s people and who to avoid and of all the things to get into while they were there.

“There’s a blond woman up the road from us. Don’t go near her. She’s young and a looker but that’s what gets you in too deep. She’d negligent, lazy, careless, you name it! One minute you’re having a nice conversation with her, the next you’re on babysitting duty for a week! Can’t believe the woman has a kid, a mess is what she is.” He shook his head as they walked. “Well, I don’t know how long you two’ll be here, but we have some nice fishing spots if you want to learn the ropes. We’ve got nice flower fields,” he added as he stretched his hand out to direct their attention to the very flowers he mentioned. There were white fences that sided them on each side of the beaten path and beyond them were fields of a variety of flowers and grass that swayed in the wind and smelled of heaven.

Their beauty was unmatched in Neji’s eyes. He looked to Shikamaru and saw how he, too stared at the field only his expression was different. It showed slight somberness, a longing for something. “Are you alright?” Neji whispered as not to interrupt the farmer’s teachings.

Shikamaru continued to stare at the wild vegetation. “Ino would’ve freaked out over this.” He said it so suddenly, so quietly. Neji was unsure of whether or not he was meant to hear it. He kept his pale eyes on the Nara and watched as the male unconsciously revealed his state of mind. Very quickly Neji could see that the Nara missed his friends more than he tried to let on.

. . .

Neji sat on the bed as he ran his fingers through his hair, detangling the strands. He watched Shikamaru who sat on his side, staring through a window straight ahead from them. The Hyuga searched him to get a reading on what could have possibly taken over his thoughts. Shikamaru felt his eyes.

“Need help?” The shadow-nin asked.

“No, thank you. I am almost done,” Neji declined.

“Hm,” Shikamaru shrugged then laid back against the bed. He wrapped his arms under his head and looked up to Neji who sat next to him. The Hyuga had his legs folded underneath him as he worked the knots from his hair. He looked down at the younger male and lowered his hands to his lap.

“Shikamaru.”

“Sorry,” the Nara closed his eyes, pretending that it was his staring that was making the other uncomfortable.

Neji shook his head at the playful response. “Do you miss home?” He asked.

Slowly, Shikamaru’s eyes reopened as though the question were being processed. He opened his mouth as he thought. “Some of it.”

“What is some?” Neji questioned.

“Shogi.”

. . .

They played the game quietly with steaming cups of tea sitting by the board. Neji had suggested they go out and find a placed to make up for the loss. Still, as Neji looked to the male, he gave off an aura of longing. Shikamaru played with one fist supporting the weight of his face, back slouching in his chair. The saddening display of emotion bothered the Hyuga. He never mentioned it, but he felt that something like this was bound to happen. Even with Shikamaru mentioning his unhealthy home life, he had connections there that tied him to the village. The Nara could have stayed and been with the things he loved even if he had to deal with the negatives; they had to be more manageable than the life they were leading now.

“It’s your move,” Shikamaru said.

Neji had trailed off into thought, completely abandoning the game. He mindlessly moved a piece and guessed it was a poor move due to the look the other male gave him. Neji looked right back into the Nara’s eyes for as long as they would hold him. It turns out, it was a while. They looked to each other for what felt like minutes. It got to a point where the stare seemed to be fueled by the fatigue from a long day of vending and restocking. Finally, Shikamaru looked down and finished the game with a single move. Neji looked down at the board to see that he had been beaten unsurprisingly. They both watched the board for a while contemplating on whether or not to start a new game.

“You miss more than shogi,” Neji boldly claimed.

Shikamaru’s ear twitched at the statement but did not respond. He simply gathered each wooden piece and began to reset the game board. Neji watched as he did it.

“Shikamaru,” Neji spoke up. Anything he had to say behind it disappeared at the sight of the Nara’s scolding gaze.

“I wanted to leave. I always have. People grow up and move all the time. They leave things behind like pets, homes, friends,” once he finished resetting the shogi board he sat back against his chair, “it’s not that different if you think about it. Same thing.” Only it wasn’t. They were on the run from a very dangerous clan and powerful nation.

Neji searched the table for a response. When he thought of a suggestion, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to verbalize it. “We can go back.” He was surprised to hear the loud noise of the Nara borderline slamming his teacup to the table.

“We’ve been there,” Shikamaru said with a hard yet lazy glare.

Neji regained his composure, “I’m sorry.”

“Been there, too.” Shikamaru added in a low voice.

“I’m sorry?” Neji asked, wanting the Nara to clarify.

“Your sorry’s. You don’t have anything to be sorry about. All you did was defend yourself and I helped you. It is what it is and I’m willing to see the thing through, okay? No more sorry’s, not more ‘we can go back’, no more. It’s starting to become a drag.” He massaged the bridge of his nose. He reopened his eyes to make sure Neji heard him clearly.

The Hyuga nodded in compliance and looked back to the board. He made the first move. They played in silence for the first five minutes before Neji continued.

“We have been here for a week,” he began.

“I know.”

“We should think about leaving.”

Shikamaru sighed at the sound of his own thoughts being told to him. They were in a nice place with a nice living deal with nice people in a peaceful town so secluded that the town’s people didn’t recognize the two. Leaving seemed troublesome, but it was important that they didn’t stay anywhere for too long. “I know,” The Nara said under his breath.


	39. Chapter 39

“Alright, you sure you won’t be here once I get back?” The farmer stood in the doorway wearing a large bag on his back. He had been summoned to attend to some important family matter in a distant land meaning they all had to say their goodbye’s then and there.

“We are leaving today, possibly close behind you. We thank you for everything you have given us these past few days.” Neji bowed respectfully.

“Few days? Try a week and a half! I think you two lost track of time here. This place does it to you. One morning I just woke up with greys, a beer gut, and wrinkles from head to toe! But, it was an even bigger pleasure on my end to have you here, trust me. It gets lonely back here on the plantation. You and your boyfriend have been a huge help to an old man such as myself,” the small man said with a tilt of his straw hat, then turned to leave.

“My what?”

“Boyfriend. He’s a lucky man to have such a doll like you. You’re the most gorgeous young lady I ever did see.”

“I am a male,” Neji corrected.

“…Oh?” The farmer removed the bag from his back and retrieved a small rectangular box. In it, lied a pair of glasses with thick lenses. He placed them before his eyes and looked the Hyuga up and down. “Oh.” He did a double take, “Well that would explain the voice.” He packed the glasses with the rest of his cargo, “Well you could’ve fooled me. I’m blind as a bat,” the old man laughed. “Thought you two might’ve been doing some stuff in my son’s old room, thank the gods,” he said quietly. Finally, he opened the door and pushed the screen layer away from the house, “You two take whatever you need for your trip, see you!” He made his way down the porch steps and on to the dirt trail that shot straight out into the cornfield on the way to the main street. Neji watched the man wave to Shikamaru who was returning just as the farmer was leaving. The Hyuga was pleased to see him coming back from watering duty, but he had something else in his arm.

The Nara entered the house with a loud creak from the door’s hinges. He sighed and faced Neji. In his arm was a small, blond child. Neji eyed both of them one by one and sat his can of plant food down on the kitchen counter. “Who is that?” He asked.

“Remember that lady he was talking about? The negligent one? She caught me on the perimeter and begged me to take the kid,” Shikamaru explained. He sat the girl down on the floor and removed his hat, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

“And it worked?” Neji questioned, crossing his arms.

“I mean, yeah she really seemed like she didn’t want the kid. I was pretty sure that if I didn’t take the girl then the woman would have just left her there anyways.” He watched as the girl began to pick at a dirtied shovel.

“We cannot leave this area before finding a home for her,” Neji said, watching the girl repeatedly drop the tool to the ground after failing to lift it.

“That’s why we need to figure it out. Quick.”

. . .

They walked around the town and studied those who walked by.

“She seems like a reliable babysitter,” Shikamaru pointed out a decent looking woman at random.

Neji observed the woman. She looked young, too young. He continued moving. The small girl leaned her head over Shikamaru’s shoulder as he held her.

“I think she’s falling asleep or something,” Shikamaru called out as Neji continued searching.

“Let her. There is no point in keeping her awake. She may be confused or startled at being with complete strangers,” the Hyuga responded. “It’s getting late.”

The Nara’s feet came to an audible stop. “So, you’re saying we’re staying another night?”

Neji turned to face him and nodded. “Do you know if she talks?”

“No, but at least she’s not wearing a diaper. We don’t have to worry about cleaning anything we don’t want to.” Just then he felt something warm trickling down his shirt. He held the girl away from him and looked at the wet trail that went down to his stomach. “Troublesome.”

. . .

They stood in the kitchen bickering back and forth over the counter sink. Night had fallen and the single light of the kitchen boldened their shadows.

“I’m not doing it,” Shikamaru said as he shook his head.

Neji’s nose twitched at the idea, “Neither of us want to do it, Nara.”

“Yeah so we can agree on that much,” the Nara leaned against the counter. His ears were ringing from the loud cries of the small girl who sat on the dinner table. They both watched her from a distance. Neither of them wanted to deal with the mess, but it was inhumane to make the girl sit in her own filth. “You do it, I carried her all day.” With that, he exited the room and headed straight for bed leaving Neji alone with the girl.

. . .

Neji rung a washcloth out over the girl’s head. She giggled at the feeling of the warm water flowing down his face. Neji smiled and repeated the motion, strengthening her laughter. The purity of the sound gave the Hyuga peace of mind. He drained the bath and wrapped a towel around the child, drying her off on the sink. “Shikamaru?” He called out.

“Yeah?” The response was delayed and sounded as if he had just awoken.

“What are we going to dress her in?”

He heard the heavy creaking of the aged wooden floors as the Nara approached him. Slowly his features became more distinctive as he stepped into the light from the bathroom that flooded into the hall. He leaned against the door frame from outside the room and offered the Hyuga some small clothing that had to have belonged to the old farmer. Though the clothing was still too large, it was their best option. Shikamaru rubbed the side of his face. “You know it’s crazy for this place not to have some sort of police department or something. That way, we could have solved this whole thing earlier.”

“It is different from home,” Neji admitted as he slipped the loose fabrics on to the girl, “but it shows how peaceful the town is. If they needed a legal system, it would have been developed long ago.”

Shikamaru mentally acknowledged the statement, there was truth to it. “Um,” he removed himself from the hall wall and stepped into the bathroom. He saw how the clothing barely hung on to the girl and wished they could do better by her. “Where is she sleeping?” Shikamaru asked.

Neji looked to the Nara’s reflection in the mirror as though he hadn’t thought about it yet.

. . .

“Are you alright?” Neji asked the shadow-nin. He didn’t want to leave the child unattended, so he chose to let her sleep in their bed. There wasn’t enough space for all of them, so Shikamaru took the floor leaving Neji to watch over the girl on the bed. She fell asleep quickly but cornered the Hyuga to the edge.

“Yeah,” Shikamaru responded, “I wanna be down here just in case she rolls over a bit too far. “Are you?” He returned the question.

The Hyuga surrendered and simply removed himself from the edge of mattress, walked to the opposite bed side and sat on the floor next to the Nara.

“What if she falls?” Shikamaru asked.

Neji shook his head at the idea. “I doubt she will.”

“She is big enough to be alright if she does, though so I guess it doesn’t matter,” Shikamaru added. It earned him a scornful look. “Just keeping it real. I’m just someone who appreciates reality,” he defended with a shrug.

“Then be real,” Neji said.

“I’ve always wanted to be a cloud so I could float around and do nothing.”

The Hyuga looked at him strangely.

“I was just doing what you said,” Shikamaru said crossing his legs while lying on the wooden floor. “I hate it when people put up some forced front.”

“Which is why you never spoke to me?” Neji asked.

“I didn’t speak to you because I never got the chance or really needed to speak to you. Are you not real?”

“I am not sure.”

“I think you’re more stuffy if anything. Stale, boring. Quiet, keep to yourself type, but you’re not exactly fake. You seem pretty real to me. Nothing about you seems forced.”

Neij hummed in consideration, “You are very real.”

Shikamaru chuckled.

They fell quiet. Neji leaned his back against the side of the bed and Shikamaru lay before him. They were quiet for a while and showed no signs of sleeping any time soon. “Wanna sleep in the old man’s room?” Shikamaru proposed.


	40. Chapter 40

The farmer’s bed was more comfortable. Ironically, it was larger as well. They had more space to rest without worrying about kicking one another in their sleep. The room as larger as well. It held a closet and a wooden wardrobe along with a dresser attached to a large, antique mirror. The windows were covered by thick, woven curtains to shield the room from a surplus of sun light early in the morning.

Both shinobi lay underneath the knitted quilt that appeared to be homemade similar to the bed frame. Everything about the room gave off a homey feeling, a feeling of comfort.

“You asleep?” Shikamaru asked. He heard the male next to him roll over to face him in the dark.

“No,” Neji replied.

“Remember that plant that made you lose your voice for a while?”

“Yes.”

“Remember when I said I’ll explain why the antidote was right by it?”

The Hyuga thought for a moment, “Yes,” he recalled.

“Okay, so I’ll explain.”

“Right now?” The timing was strange to the elder.

The two were simply lying in the dark with nothing to do or say since neither of them could sleep. Shikamaru felt the suddenness of it to be appropriate. “Yeah,” he said.

Neji rolled on to his back and fought back a smile built up by the boy’s peculiarity, “Alright.”

“They’re the same species but different types. Like how snakes work. Some venomous, some harmless. Some plants are poisonous, and some aren’t. They both pretty much need the same environment to grow so they’ll typically be in the same area. You can tell which one’ll kill you by its petals, but it’s kinda hard to tell them apart,” Shikamaru explained.

“I could have died?” Neji asked, a bit alarmed.

“Yeah, but it would’ve taken days,” he casually dismissed the fact. “The way to know which is which is by the shape of the dark spot on the petals. The harmful ones have a black blob on each petal. The harmless ones have more of a heart shape, but sometimes it’s hard to tell,” the Nara finished.

“Did you guess?” Neji questioned.

“Kind of. You got lucky,” Shikamaru joked. Both shinobi thought on the discussed information until the silence of the room drowned their ideas out. Soon, the cicadas replaced their thoughts and filled the room with their echoing buzzes.

“He thought we were together,” Neji said at random. He felt the shadow-nin shift next to him. It was now Shikamaru that lied on his side, facing the other.

“What?” He whispered in amusement. Neji could hear the smile on the boy’s face. “Why did he think that?”

“He thought that I was a female.”

“Probably your features,” Shikamaru pointed out staring into the Hyuga’s general direction, imagining Neji’s appearance due to being blinded by the dark. “Nothing about you seems super… rough. You have a more calm, airy appearance,” he continued.

“Airy?”

“Yeah, you’re just – I don’t know – flowy or something. It’s probably just your clothes and hair or something. Your fighting style is pretty swift like your movements too. You’re just airy, barely there but there. You just _flow_ ,” the Nara found difficulty in explaining what he meant, “like a ghost.”

Neji began to suspect that the Nara was speaking from fatigue. “You should go to sleep, Shikamaru,” he said as he turned to face him. Their faces were close and the only way to tell was from the heat that came off of them both.

“Does the Byuakugan give you better vision at night at all?” Shikamaru asked honestly.

“Not exactly,” he answered, “It is close to useless in the dark,” Neji lowered his voice to a point barely higher than a whisper.

“So, you can’t see me?” The volume of Shikamaru’s voice dropped even lower.

“Can you see me?” Neji returned in a whisper. With each exchange of words, they grew quieter and quieter as the verbal interactions grew to be less and less. It fell silent. Neji watched the Nara with heavy lids figuring the boy had finally fallen asleep when he felt the graze of lips against his own. He held the contact and allowed the soft feeling to buzz against his lips for some seconds before pushing forward ever so slightly. The sensation attracted him. Neji took the chance to turn the contact into a kiss. He felt the shadow-nin lightly suck his lower lip into his own before drawing a hand up against the Hyuga’s side holding it firmly as the kiss picked up pace. Breaths spilled from one mouth to the other as they closed the gap between them. Shikamaru’s grip on Neji’s side tightened as their bodies pressed against one another. The Nara used his grip, to turn the elder on to his back but never did their lips disconnect. 

They heard a cry coming from upstairs.

They both paused breathlessly before Shikamaru pulled away from Neji trying to recollect himself. The male beneath him tried to slow his breath and process everything at once. The Nara crawled off the bed, making it creak underneath his weight.

The two rushed up the stairs to find the girl wailing on the bed where they had left her. Neji approached the girl while the Nara watched from the doorway. “At least she didn’t fall,” Shikamaru said groggily.

Neji dropped his arms to his sides and looked to Shikamaru with heavy disappointment. The Nara rubbed his neck and looked away in response.

“Okay, what’s wrong?” Neji asked.

The small girl reached her arms out towards the shadow-nin who had yet to fully enter the room. Shikamaru furrowed his eyebrows and pointed to himself questioningly, silently asking if it was him she was crying for. He swayed over to the bed and kneeled by her on the floor.

“Hey, you making all that noise over me?” Shikamaru asked.

“I think she woke up alone and was shaken up,” Neji said.

“Oh, is that it?” Shikamaru stood and lifted the girl as he climbed on to the bed. He lied on his back and sat the girl on his stomach, “Go back to sleep, okay?” He said softly as he rubbed his tired eyes. The girl lied against him hugging the Nara the best she could and looked to Neji. She reached a small hand out asking for him to be by her as well. He abided by her wishes and took his place next to the Nara. With the girl lying on top of Shikamaru, there was now room for all three of them.

Neither of them shared a word. After a few minutes had gone by, they heard the soft snores of the girl and tried anything they could not to wake her. Shikamaru went as far as to breathe carefully as not to shake her awake and Neji didn’t dare to move, so they lied side by side in the dimly lit room wondering. They wondered what it was that came over them downstairs. They wondered if it was worth talking about. They wondered if it would happen again. They wondered which one of them had wanted it the most and for how long. The atmosphere became strange with a sort of tension that they would have to sit on for the night.


	41. Chapter 41

It was another day of trying to find a suitable caretaker for the young girl that had been abandoned by her own mother. The two walked what seemed to be aimlessly through the small yet spacious town. Buildings were a fair distance from one another and occupied very flat land that was slightly arid. It was a very quiet village with people who did not wish to meddle in something that had nothing to do with them. They approached a small café that had outdoor seating and offered small staples such as seeds, bagged snacks and newspapers.

Neji looked into a rusted metallic bin and pulled out one of the newspapers. He read the headline and offered it to Shikamaru who had his hands full. His right hand held a small water bottle for the girl who occupied his left.

“Here, can you hold this for me?” He asked the blond girl. She reached up and retrieved the bottle giving Shikamaru leeway to read the paper. He narrowed his eyes and silently mouthed as he read. It was an article on two individuals who invaded a town leader’s building and threatened him and his child in order to get the dam to fall, giving access to free water to many. The paper painted them out as heroes of the night. Of course, both shinobi had their concerns over what would become of the outsiders once they left. Luckily, the people seemed to be doing well. There were smaller stories below the article that told of people regaining their plantations and ranches. He lowered the paper and looked to Neji who was looking right at him awaiting his input. Shikamaru smiled, “this is…” he looked back to the paper and shook his head almost in disbelief, “this is great.” Knowing that the risk they took was widely appreciated was rewarding but to know the people had their lives back was the bigger return. However, with this paper informing the area of events from another land, it was possible that word of them had reached the Land of Fire. The Nara flattened his lips at the thought of it.

Suddenly, there was a loud clanging of metal sounding from roads away. Many rows of buildings stood in between them and the commotion. Still, it was in their nature to head towards it. They heard loud noises being given back and forth. It sounded more like a fight the closer they got. Neji was going to activate the Byakugan when he saw a large man flying from the distance overhead. He fell with a loud thud and scraped through the dirt causing bystanders to flee. The two watched the man to see if he would rise to cause any trouble.

“He’s alive only badly injured,” Neji informed. He closed in on the man in a ready stance. The closer he got, the more he was able to identify the types of injuries the large man had suffered. There were many cuts in his arms and back. There were slivers in his clothing as if he had been showered in kunai.

“Take that, _mole man_!”

That voice. Neji looked to Shikamaru whose eyes shot wide open. He too was frozen in place at the familiar sound.

Around the corner jumped Naruto Uzumaki followed by the rest of team seven and team Guy. Naruto cheered boisterously, oblivious of the two missing shinobi on either side of him. However, the rest were more aware.

“Neji?” TenTen asked in a thin voice. The Hyuga and the kunoichi stared at one another before she mindlessly walked towards him. She broke out into a run and embraced the male. Lee followed behind her in tears. Might Guy had yet to break from his trance. “Where have you been?” She cried. She ripped her head away from his chest and looked up with eyes welling up with tears. “We were so worried something had happened. You’ve been gone for over a month! Where were you, what happened?!” TenTen looked from him to Shikamaru who hadn’t moved. Only when he caught her eye did he notice that his mouth was ajar. He closed it and swallowed unsure of what this meant for the both of them. “You,” she said. “You, too. What happened? Where did you go?” She stormed over to the Nara with a face that still showed her shock at finding the two here of all places. Sai watched the scene in silence due to not having such a history with either of them. Kakashi studied each shinobi trying to get a better idea of what could have happened. Sakura watched with wide eyes, her hands limp at her sides just as confused as everyone else. She was unsure of what to do just as the shadow-nin didn’t know how to deal with the situation.

After being freed from the embrace, Neji still stood not completely convinced it was real. It had been so long. Seeing them gave him a strange feeling. It was a mix of relief and concern. “What,” he began to speak to them for the first time in weeks, “what are you doing here?” He managed to ask.

“Us? We’re ninja, we get missions, don’t tell me you forgot. Besides, what are _you_ doing here? Why did you leave the village?” She stepped closer to the surprised male, “Have you been here the whole time?”

“We’ve been here for a week.” Shikamaru answered seeing as Neji was incapable to do so. “Been helping a farmer with his work.” He would stick to what he liked to do most in situations like this. He told the truth but excluded details unless they were explicitly asked for.

“I have not heard of either of you being sent on such a low ranked mission,” Lee said, still clinging to Neji.

The Hyuga peeled the boy from himself as Shikamaru continued to explain.

“And why do you have that little girl with you?” Sakura asked.

Shikamaru closed his eyes and slowly inhaled feeling said girl clinging to the back of his leg. He didn’t want to lie nor did he want to cause concern since they all seemed unaware of what was really going on. “She’s a girl whose mom abandoned her, and we can’t find her a new home.”

Sakura’s face overflowed with empathy as she pitied the young girl. “Maybe we could help,” she offered.

“First, what’s going on?” Naruto rasped.

“Who else is concerned back home?” Shikamaru exhaled.

They all looked to each other. “Well, everyone. You guys went missing without explanation which is pretty inconsiderate if you could have helped it and left a note, message, something! Think about it!” TenTen scolded, “You know how we’re all supposed to tell at least one person of our travels before going out for safety reasons. That’s why there’s a log! Since you guys decided to do your own thing and just ignore all of that, your mom, dad, Ino, _Choji_ are all stressed out thinking something bad happened! Even Ino and Choji’s parents are worried sick, Shikamaru! Neji, you too! Lee, Guy Sensei and I were all thinking that someone took you or something for your visual prowess. Hinata has gone so many nights without sleep! Now if you want to talk about worried sick, I’d start with _her_ because she’s a literal example! Because you’re gone,” she jammed a finger into his chest, “I’ve been seeing my fill of your family in the streets, borderline interrogating the people about your whereabouts! Some have even been dispatched from the village to find you. By now, they ought to be somewhere in the Land of Birds since they waited a couple weeks before searching outside the village.” She crossed her arms and glared at him with an angry expression that threatened to crack at the sight of her long-missed companion. Her mouth began to quiver, “Neji you know better than anyone else how harsh your family can be, why would you do that? Why would…”

“His forehead,” Sakura thought aloud drawing all attention to the blank area. It brought on another wave of silence as even more questions began to pile up in their throats.

“Neji… what is going on?” TenTen whispered.

By then, Shikamaru could no longer find ways to avoid telling them what they deserved to know. He had to tell them at least most of the truth in order to answer the biggest question of Neji’s new freedom. Each shinobi looked between the Nara and Hyuga repeatedly except for TenTen. She kept a hard stare on the pale-eyed boy before her.

Neji did not lower his head, though he did hold the girl’s eyes. “We found out how to remove the curse mark. It was done by mistake, a grave mistake,” Neji began quietly.

Shikamaru looked away and silently cursed his lack of speed when it came to dodging the question.

“Once it was undone, I told myself to get resealed,” he slowly shook his head, “I never did. One night a Hyuga from the Main House came to my living quarters. He threatened me over not being sealed. He told me how badly I had messed up and how the only way to fix it would be by confessing and then dying,” he looked down the road incapable of looking her in the eye.

TenTen’s expression dropped at the mention of death being the only way to atone for his mistakes then hardened again. She shook her head of the idea.

“Then, I continued to dig my own grave by lashing out at him. We fought. Shikamaru aided my defense which we knew could be said to be assault. The Hyuga are not to be trusted,” he looked back to the kunoichi who now stared to the gravel as she took it all in, “Knowing how our fate had been set in stone, we ran that night and did not stop. We traveled to many lands in order to avoid an encounter with one of my clan members or Hidden Leaf authorities and convinced ourselves that everything would be fine. Just seeing you all today has reminded us that there is no way of surely escaping it unless we were to leave the face of the Earth altogether. We were sorely mistaken to have thought otherwise,” The Hyuga finished. No one knew what to add to it. The situation pained Shikamaru, Neji didn’t know where to turn from there and the rest were still processing the story.

“Neji,” Guy spoke up and stepped towards him. He placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder and lifted his head to look the Hyuga in the face. “You keep going.”

His words shocked them all.

“Both of you. Keep going and don’t stop,” Guy said.

“Sensei,” Neji breathed out.

“I’ve seen how driven they are to find you. They will stop a nothing until they find you and bring you a world of pain, Neji. A member from the Side Branch pulled me aside one day and told me that if they find you, they will take you back with them and make an example out of you. He told me that they had awful things planned for you. I have a feeling that the young man was too afraid to give me specifics, but he told me enough to know that it’s better for you to evade than to admit. The consequence would outweigh the act that you committed. For now, they’re keeping it a family matter, but I have a feeling that they may try to recruit village officials into the matter. You know the Hidden Leaf prioritizes clan relations. I don’t want anything to happen to you, Neji. Run,” Guy warned.

Neji took a single step back, struck by the man’s words. The old, scabbed over wound of fear from weeks ago reopened and began to pump something through him. He was scared. He was reminded of the seriousness of their situation. They were foolish to have been stationed in one area for so long. It allowed his clan ample time to catch up to them.

“We’ll take care of the girl,” Sakura nodded.

The two looked to the medical-nin. They were relieved to be freed of what kept them glued to the village. They knew now more than ever just how quickly they needed to move. Only, now they would have to take an unexpected turn to steer the Hyuga clan off course.

Shikamaru already had it mentally mapped out.

“You two need to get going,” Sakura said as she approached the Nara removing the girl from his side. The child looked to her primary caretaker and became nervous at the detachment. Her whine turned into a cry then a wail. Sakura tried to bounce her in her arms to calm her down, but nothing worked. The child tried to fight her way from the kunoichi’s arms and even tried reaching out to the Nara but in vain. Sakura was surprised at how attached the girl had grown to the male in such short time. It only further showed how neglectful her true mother was. She helplessly cried as tears ran down her face making the shadow-nin ache as he turned his back. One last outburst was all it took for the Nara to turn back around, stroke her blond hairs away from her face and press his own forehead on the top of her head. He then proceeded back in the direction of the farmhouse. He knew how it felt to be abandoned by someone you were supposed to trust. He knew the feeling all too well. Back at the village, he ran away from his obligation to become his old man only to do something his father always did. Shikamaru couldn’t help but feel guilty as he continued down the road.

The small girl looked at her last hope, Neji. She tried to reach out and cry for him causing him a feeling of guilt. He felt he was betraying the girl. She was too small to understand. Still, he walked towards her, calming her down. He placed both of his hands to her cheeks and pressed his forehead against her own before removing himself and following after the Nara.

It wasn’t long before he heard the girls pained screams behind him. TenTen watched as the two shrunk in the distance. She was no more ready to say goodbye than the little girl.


	42. Chapter 42

Shikamaru picked at the small fire with a thin stick. Neji watched as the sparks flew up and ceased to glow. They sat in the dry sands of the Land of Wind where they would be least expected to be traveling. It was their second week in the new land and the climate was harsh with an environment incapable of keeping human life unless the area was adjusted by man. It was night fall and the temperature had dropped enough to allow some comfort though it was still unbearably dry. They decided to travel in the night in order to prevent themselves from wearing down too soon.

Shikamaru was sitting on top of a large bag they had stocked with water and unperishable items before leaving the Land of Vegetables. Neji sat the one given to them in the Land of Rivers that held different clothes, shoes, and bandages they may have needed on their trek through the desert. The biome was infamous for being a symbol of lost hope. Walking through a desert felt fruitless like there was no end especially when you cannot physically see your destination from where you stand. It was akin to being lost at sea. It was overwhelming.

Shikamaru looked to Neji whose eyes were still watching the fire dance on the few dry twigs they could scavenge. The Hyuga’s eyes were heavy from the sun’s constant beating and his cheeks, nose and forehead were all red from the day’s heat; he was especially susceptible to burning. They had traveled some through the previous night and further into the day in the childish mindset that if they traveled longer in one go then they would be closer to where they were going sooner only to do exactly what they agreed not to do: overheat under the sun. Neji had been close to serious sun burn and the Nara cursed himself for it. He should have forced the both of them to settle down for the day like he had initially planned, but he didn’t. Now, their schedule was off. They were tired when the sun was down versus it being the other way around. He adjusted the makeshift pillow of a bag. He lied against the sand and rest his head against the luggage.

“Are we stopping for the night?” Neji asked without removing his stare from the flames.

“For a bit. We’ll get up before the sun rises and move some, then we’ll stop once the sun comes up. We have to fix our sleeping schedule,” Shikamaru replied. Neji didn’t respond right away so the shadow-nin figured he took it for an answer.

“We should get up,” Neji said.

The Nara knew the Hyuga was just as exhausted as he was, so he failed to understand why he would push so hard. He sat up and looked to Neji who now looked at him. “Neji, we’re beat. We need at least an hour of rest before we start moving again,” he explained tiredly. He watched the elder slowly shake his head in disagreement. Shikamaru knew how shaken he must be after hearing about his clan’s advances and he knew better than anyone how capable its members are of bringing harm to their own blood and anyone who comes in between. Neji’s fear was only rational but realistically, they needed to rest if they were going to play a role in preventing that from happening. The two stared at each other waiting for the other to speak, to add something to their stance on the matter. Shikamaru bit the inside of his cheek and looked at the miles and miles of desert on each side of him. He sighed through his nose, quick and harsh. “No, Neji. Okay? We can’t keep pushing ourselves like this.”

“I could keep going and you seem plenty awake, I do not understand why not. We could continue until we truly cannot stand the idea of taking another step, by then it would most likely be sunrise. Sleeping now seems to be a waste of time unless you have forgotten the threat that is pursuing us,” Neji put coldly.

“Yeah we could keep going and what? Finish the job for them?” Shikamaru spat.

Neji’s eyes came close to displaying his annoyance at the harshness of Shikamaru’s words, but he dropped them back to the dying fire.

The Nara rubbed his face, cursing himself even more. “Look. We have limited supplies and if we continue to ration then we should be fine if we pace ourselves. I’m sure we have enough to make it to where we’re going, we just have to get there.”

“What if we are found?” Neji asked.

“They won’t find us. We’re sealed and we’re coming into the Land of Wind from the north west, the far west. Your clan is coming from the far east. There is a very slim chance that we would just so happen to pass by them in this huge sand pit. I’m sure the first place they’d branch out to would be allies just so they can inform people to keep an eye out for you so by the time they’re done searching the Hidden Sand, we would just be passing by in disguises. We aren’t in this desert to get to Sunagakure. We’re headed towards another, smaller village fairly isolated from the world around them like the other villages we’ve gone through,” the younger reasoned.

Neji looked to the boy on the other side of the crackling twigs.

“We’re okay, Neji. You’re gonna be fine, I swear. Do you trust me?” Shikamaru asked.

The Hyuga locked his eyes with the Nara and nodded. He then settled his own bag against the sand with the intent of using it as a pillow himself.

The Shadow-nin was grateful to have the other’s trust. It was reassuring due to it being seemingly impossible a month back. “Hey,” he said suddenly, catching Neji’s attention. “You don’t do it anymore, or at least as much.”

“Do what?” Neji was genuinely clueless.

“Shield your eyes when you speak.”

The Hyuga’s gaze wandered along with his mind. He hadn’t thought about it, but the Nara was right. The only thing unclear to him was why it was worthy of mentioning especially now. “What is your point?” Even in the hardest of times he found the boy to be peculiar.

“Earlier on, before all of this, you would always keep your eyes closed when spoken to. I never understood it. I thought it was something you did so you could process words better, if you were hiding something or it was a sort of defense mechanism. I mean eventually it looked more and more like you were trying to mask emotion or something. You don’t do it anymore.”

Neji listened to him as he watched the stars in the clear sky. “It was like you said on that night. It was a habit. I served the Main House. When speaking to a member, those of the Side Branch were considered to be most respectful when they do not look the higher ups in the eye. It was not a spoken rule, but it was highly suggested that we kept our eyes and heads lowered. I believe the habit cemented after being a child and looking into the eyes of Lord Hiashi in front of the other Hyuga elders. He made it clear that night that just because I am the son of his late brother that I was no different in his eyes. He had to make sure that he showed no bias when it came to me.”

Each time the Hyuga spoke of events of his past, Shikamaru wondered how the male was able to keep everything all down for so long. “He used you to prove himself,” Shikamaru added. Without Neji confirming it, he knew it was true.

There was nothing either one of them could add on to the conversation. There was nothing they could even use to branch off into a new one. They both lied idly watching the many stars that shone brighter than they ever did in Konohagakure. Shikamaru swallowed to lubricate his dry throat. “A couple days more is how long it’ll probably take us to get to the Hidden Sand. We’ll stop there for a bit, stay low and then leave.

Neji rose from where he was resting his head. “Shikamaru,” he paused, “I’m sorry.”

“Neji…”

“I know you said no more apologies, however it seems as though I speak excessively of myself.”

Shikamaru opened his eyes and slowly rose up to look at Neji across the embers of the extinguished fire. “What? I don’t think you’ve ever spoken _enough_ about yourself,” he had to hold back a hysterical bit of laughter at the apology, “Neji that’s why you’re so pent up. You were always dealt a bad hand. I’d argue that you were abused all throughout your youth maybe even neglected. That stuff s something you need to talk about or at least give a reaction to. I mean just letting your emotions and thoughts pile up will actually poison you from the inside out,” he pressed a finger against his own head, “do you know what I’m saying? They owe you so much, can you see that?” Otherwise, Neji might not have lost his senses in the lab that night.

“What about you?” Neji asked.

Shikamaru lowered his hand in confusion, his wild smile faded at the sudden turn, “What?”

“You have had a hard time growing up. Do you ever speak of it?” Neji returned calmly.

“Well, I mean. That’s different,” Shikamaru dropped his hand to his leg.

“How?”

“I wasn’t hurt in the way you were I mean my home life was tolerable. All I had to do was walk out to fix the problem.”

“But when you left your mother would lose her sanity you said. She would become someone unrecognizable. Your father was never there to share the blow, he left you to look after her,” Neji recollected aloud.

Shikamaru stared at the Hyuga with an unreadable expression.

“I should not have brought it up,” Neji said.

“No, you saw my hypocrisy and called me out for it, it was fair,” Shikamaru admitted. “But I’ve pretty much said everything. She was obsessive, sick. She threw things at me, swatted me for the longest. I usually snuck out every now and then just to get smacked the next time I came home but I don’t even want to call it a beating,” he smirked as he went back in time as if it were no big deal, “I mean she’s a weak woman, she couldn’t really hurt me even if she tried. These days I stand over her. The thing most troubling was how her mind would flip. She’s just crazy, I don’t know. Refused help, chased Dad out of the house. He’d come back some days of the week but late at night typically drunk. I never found out where he would stay, but I didn’t really care,” he chuckled, “I was just pissed at him. I wanted to ask him why he would marry and impregnate a mentally ill woman, but I’m sure he was asking himself the same thing.” He waved the matter away, “She was just sick.”

“Maybe she can still be helped,” Neji tried.

“You can’t help people who don’t want to be helped. You gotta leave them and hope they’ll figure themselves out. Shouldn’t have to be your problem,” the Nara lied back down on the large bag.

“She cannot help being mentally ill,” Neji said.

“Yeah, okay. Well, I’m still mad at her for not getting some help.”

“Maybe it was the cost of it financially.”

“Could’ve gotten a job or something instead of making me and Dad pay all the bills.”

“A woman with her condition would not find an occupation easily. You know how people view the openly mentally ill. If she were to be admitted, then it would confirm her disability. Maybe she is avoiding help to uphold her public image.”

“So, it’s not her fault she didn’t try harder to get the help she needed? Like how it’s not her fault she locked me in my room when I was seven because she was scared that I’d leave her like her husband did every night? Like how it’s not her fault she threw piping hot food at me straight from the skillet for calling her insane when I was ten? Like how it’s not her fault that I saw Dad less and less as the years went on…”

“Shikamaru…”

The Nara sat up, “Like it’s not her fault that she’s so fucking obsessed with her husband that she was aroused by me just being identical to him?!” He threw sand to his side resenting his parents more and more by the second. “They’re so fucked up, both of them,” Shikamaru whispered.

Neji watched the rare outburst. It shook him a bit due to it being out of the Nara’s character. Shikamaru looked to him as he came back down to the present. The anger was still there but it was paired with a look of what seemed to be embarrassment. “Just go to sleep, we’re getting up soon,” the shadow-nin said quietly as he fell back against the makeshift pillow. He felt ridiculous venting about something he felt was in his hands even when it wasn’t.

Neji lied back down slowly, unsure of if the exchange had been progressive or a mistake. Shikamaru opened up, but he became upset because of the Hyuga’s prying. Neji swore to himself that he’d never touch the sore area again.


	43. Chapter 43

A breeze carrying grains of sand dusted across Neji’s face calling him back to alertness. He used his hands to block the sand from entering the crevices of his eyes. He stood and brushed the bits of sand from his hair and attire. He looked down to find the younger shinobi still deeply asleep.

“Shikamaru, the sun is up. We slept in too late,” Neji said as he turned to gather his bag. He placed it on his shoulders and walked over to the Nara who remained curled up on the sand. “Shikamaru.” He watched the shadow-nin and waited for him to move. When he didn’t, Neji knelt down, unappreciative of the male’s stubbornness, “Shikamaru,” he shook his shoulder. He turned the Nara on to his back and saw that his face had a pale, lifeless look to it. “Shikamaru?” Neji placed a hand against the boy’s cheek and shook his shoulder again but with more force. The Hyuga panicked as he searched the male’s body. His ankle had two small holes in it and the skin around the injury was discolored. Neji’s heart began to pound at the sight of it. He hovered his hands over the helpless male beneath him. He didn’t know what to do. He lied his head against the boy’s chest and felt a slow heartbeat. It should have been reassuring but it only scared him more. Time was running thin and he had not the slightest idea of what to do. He wished it were the other way around; he was sure the Nara would have revived him by now.

“Shikamaru? Shikamaru, can you hear me?” He didn’t know what to do. He wanted the shadow-nin to come back just for a few seconds to tell him how to fix it. He was desperate. “Please,” Neji continued to shake him and listen for a beat in his chest. He activated the Byakugan and searched the desert for anything, anyone that could help. He whipped around to search the northern side and found a group of men. He stood and began running after them with a newfound energy that was not accessible the day prior. However, he stopped abruptly when he recognized the men as being from the Hyuga clan. There is no way they could have found them this quickly. By then he was visible to the men just by the naked eye. Neji was sure they had tried to use the Byakugan to better reveal who he was in the distance, revealing that both the rogue shinobi were undetectable by the dojutsu hence the reason the men started to run. Neji took a step back and realized what he had to do. He hurriedly lifted the Nara sloppily, desperately. He walked towards the men with fear stacked high in his chest and throat as the men picked up speed from miles away. He was tired, he was afraid. He was more afraid of letting Shikamaru die than he was of his own punishment.

. . .

Shikamaru awoke in a tent with a bucket of water next to him. He supported his upper weight by drawing his elbows up behind him. He looked around, aloof of his surroundings. He removed the thin blanket and moved his leg, triggering the sharp pain of his ankle. He winced and looked down to find it bandaged. He had been sweating profusely and dampened his shirt which now stuck to his skin. His hair was soaked, and stray strands pressed against his flushed face. Still, he managed to work his way to his feet. He limped to the tent entrance and peeled the flap back to find a camp site, teeming with Hyuga. He was shocked and his step faltered. He walked to the man who he figured kept the fire in check. “Where is he, what’s going on?” A part of his clear thinking had yet to recover. The venom had coursed all throughout his body, tainting a number of things within him. His question caught the attention of numerous men and they all stopped what they were doing to face him in the night. They appeared to be ready to end him if need be. They were hostile. The man who watched the fire stood and faced the Nara.

“He is being monitored in that tent over there,” he tilted his head towards a tent at the end of the camp, “but you are prohibited to speak to him,” the man answered.

Shikamaru shook his head as he swayed unsteadily, “Nah, I need to talk to him,” he turned to the tent with clouded judgement only to be held back by the very Hyuga who answered his question.

“You are prohibited. Now that you are awake, you can answer the questions that he would not answer. We need your name, your identity…”

“I want to see him,” Shikamaru’s words were slurred.

Two more Hyuga stepped in to hold the shadow-nin still. Shikamaru’s head rolled from side to side as his dilated pupils tried their best to focus on the man before him.

“You will answer our questions and we may consider giving you two a few minutes if it means your cooperation after that,” the stranger offered.

“Fuck you guys, you hurt him,” Shikamaru still weakly fought to free himself from the grasp of three men, “You’re all half assed people. You’re not even people. Monsters. Abusing him as a kid wasn’t enough?”

“That is enough. Be quiet.”

“Huh? Wasn’t taking his father and mentally fucking him over enough?! Get off!” He repeatedly threw his shoulder back, trying to shake the Hyugas away from him unsuccessfully.

Neji sat on the ground, legs crossed with his eyes closed and head lowered. At the sound of Shikamaru’s voice, his head shot up. He looked right at the tent entrance that was blocked by two Main House Hyuga. He heard the Nara’s dialogue and demands. He was relieved to hear his voice again, he was okay. He had demanded he be made aware of his companion’s wellbeing, but they refused to answer to a fugitive that was beneath them. They felt they owed him no such thing making Shikamaru’s words from the night before ring even louder. The Nara had said that they owed Neji so much but even today they refused to treat him humanely. They gave him nothing to eat or drink only deepening his feeling that he may be executed for conspiring against his clan. So, he sat there and tried to pretend he did not hear Shikamaru’s arguing. Eventually he heard yells before the tent’s flap flew open and in rushed Shikamaru. He was delusional from the snake bite and incapable of processing every factor of their new surroundings. They were being held captive; they’ve been caught. It was over. Regardless, the Nara knelt down to grab a hold of Neji’s arms. He looked him right in the eyes with a pleading look.

“Neji, what are you doing?! They’re here!” Shikamaru exclaimed.

The Hyuga members who tried to hold him back ran into the tent, “Do not treat him lightly, he’s a Nara. He used the shadow possession jutsu against us!” The two men who guarded Neji ripped the shadow-nin away from his arms. The sudden uproar and motion left Neji winded. Seeing Shikamaru like that – seeing him act out of his raw emotion – was eye opening. He wanted to save Neji. After saving him numerous times he still wanted so desperately to save Neji. The act proved to the elder that Shikamaru did genuinely care for his safety and that he wasn’t only running to save his own skin. Neji watched wide eyed as Shikamaru was forced from the tent leaving him even more sore than he was to begin with – with just hearing the Nara’s yells minutes ago. Shikamaru had put his all in getting them so far and now he was giving in and he may never get the chance to properly express his deepest apologies. He had refused to tell the Hyuga clan Shikamaru’s name and identity as much as he could, but now that they knew, he would be punished alongside him for assisting his escape. His punishment may not be as harsh as death, but his reputation would plummet after facing legal charges. They hit rock bottom. They no longer had anything to lose.

Shikamaru was thrown into his tent chained up. His hands were bound together just like his feet. Still, he continued to yell curses to the Hyuga clan and its people. He let them hear his every thought. He was not in his right mind. All he knew was that they were the people who had hurt Neji time and time again and continue to do so now. He remembered the possibility of Neji’s execution, he remembered the dream he had of the Hyuga hanging with that ugly mark carved into his bloodied skin. He continued to move, unable to comprehend that there was no possible way to break the metal. He yelled and tried to break the chains tirelessly until he heard voices yelling orders, gusts of wind being blown and equipment banging against one another as they fell against the ground. He looked up to find Neji entering the tent. The elder focused chakra into his hand and broke the chains though the cuffs remained fully intact due to having no time to break them.

“Get up,” Neji ordered.

“What, Neji? What, are we leaving?” Shikamaru tried his best to keep up but through his eyes everything was moving too quickly. He had just come to the realization that there was no way they could leave after being captured but now they were escaping after Neji refused to move when he tried to get him to. He simply moved where the elder moved and stayed close behind. When Shikamaru exited the tent, he found the other Hyuga members unconscious, dusted in sand. Neji rushed around the camp site anxiously gathering their equipment and stealing some of his clan members’. “What are we doing?” Shikamaru asked. His words were a bit less slurred than when he first woke up. He held his head that was pounding.

“Yes, Shikamaru, we’re leaving,” Neji rushed over to him, “Put your arms out,” he ordered.

Shikamaru stuck his arms up into the air still trying to keep from falling face first.

“No, not up, I said out,” Neji corrected.

Shikamaru lowered his arms to where they stuck out in front of him.

Neji took it upon himself to grab his wrists and pull the arms to where they stuck out at his sides so he could place the straps of their food bag on each of the younger male’s shoulders. The Hyuga then placed his own bag on to his back and walked away from the camp. He stopped when he didn’t hear the footsteps of the other. He turned around to see Shikamaru watching one of the unconscious men. “Come this way,” he motioned. Seeing that something had captivated the Nara, Neji ran back to the camp and grabbed a hold of the Nara’s wrist.

“Neji.”

“What?”

“I think he’s awake,” Shikamaru pointed to the man right by Neji’s foot whose eyes rolled around. Impulsively, Neji kicked his head sending him back into unconsciousness.

“Wow,” Shikamaru whispered.

“I did not mean to do that. Just come on,” he dropped the matter and continued nearly dragging Shikamaru from the scene. The task had grown more daunting than before. The Nara could no longer be the navigator due to being intoxicated on venom so Neji would just have to wander in the direction of which they came from the night before and hope for the best. He didn’t know if he was bringing them closer to their destination or if they were getting further, all he knew was that he needed to put distance between them and the Hyuga clan. Luckily, the sun was down, cloaking them as they escaped further into the night.


	44. Chapter 44

“Neji?!” Shikamaru exclaimed finding himself in a warm bed with a roof over his head. He froze as his eyes surveyed the room around him. He heard fast paced footsteps rushing towards the room. Neji swung the door open and looked to the Nara intensely.

“What?!” His chest rose and fell as quickly as Shikamaru’s own as he quickly looked around for what could have been the matter.

Shikamaru ripped the sheets away and made his way towards the male in the doorway who never took his hand off the doorknob. Neji watched him as he approached and allowed the Nara to wrap him in a tight embrace.

“I thought…” Shikamaru said over Neji’s shoulder.

Neji gently held on to the shadow-nin after taking some seconds to realize what the gesture was about. “They did but we got away.” He felt Shikamaru hold him tighter. At that point Neji felt that the younger was supporting all of his weight. “We’re okay just like you said,” he breathed out.

Shikamaru buried his face into the crook of Neji’s neck making the Hyuga losing train of thought. The venom should have long worn off by then. Still, the Nara expressed such pure emotion. They held the position for some time. Neji leaned his head against the other male and accepted the contact. The two closed their eyes and just allowed themselves to be for a few minutes before reluctantly breaking away.

Shikamaru stepped aside the Hyuga, leaving Neji with a strange feeling that was unfamiliar to him. The Nara wandered around the small house that he suddenly found himself in. It was old without running water or electricity. The floorboards creaked, giving away their poor condition. There were three rooms. One was storage, the other a bedroom and the largest was the kitchen and den in one. The walls were fairly narrow logs with many gaps in between blocked up by various things like papers and tools. The front door was made up of a large slab of wood that had to be lifted and moved entirely by hand each time one wanted to come or go. “Where are we?” He asked as he studied the tin ceiling. That’s when he heard loud grunting as the wooden slab of a door was hoisted up and sat to the side. There, in the new opening to the outside world stood Ichiro, the same man from the hospital nearly two months ago. He was the same man Shikamaru lent the rest of his change to. The same man who gave him a prayer in Neji’s name. He had helped them. “You’re here.” The shadow-nin observed.

“I live here,” Ichiro man smiled.

“This is your home,” Shikamaru summed up.

Ichiro nodded and sat paper bags on the wooden rocking chair that sat in the den, his smile never leaving. Everything started to come together. The blurred lines became clear. “Thank you,” Shikamaru said. He looked behind him to catch Neji who still stood frozen in the doorway. “Thank you,” he repeated.

Neji looked unsure of himself but nodded before helping Ichiro unpack the goods he had purchased from the market. The Nara placed all his weight on one foot and rotated the opposite ankle. There was no more pain, only a slight itchiness on the surface of the skin. It was a relief. Flashes of him stumbling and vomiting in the grass began to appear in the back of his mind. He frowned at the poor taste of his mouth that didn’t seem to be present until then.

“Please, stay as long as you need,” the man nodded before leaving the two alone in the shack all over again. “I’ll just leave this open, it’s a hassle anyways,” he said stepping past the wooden plank of a door that sat in the dirt.

“So, we’re safe?” Shikamaru asked as he watched the man walk off.

“I cannot promise it, but we’re here instead of with my clan so it is a good start,” Neji said holding the market goods.

The camp had been a close call. It was a miracle they got away. The clan’s sudden appearance just showed how adept the Hyuga were at locating anything that they wanted, visual advantage or not. Shikamaru was sure that there would be no way the Hyuga clan could have located them that quickly, it was strange.

“I thought we’d be safe out there. I was wrong,” Shikamaru sighed as he made his way to help the Hyuga place the items in their respectful places. He took the fruits that occupied Neji’s arms and took over unloading.

“Do not apologize. You were the one who got us that far in the first place, Nara.”

Shikamaru shrugged.

“Well you still do it,” Neji said.

“Do what?” the Shadow-nin asked. He looked to Neji who shrugged his shoulders. “You don’t know?” Shikamaru asked, confused at the motion.

“No, you still shrug. It was your habit, remember? I would shield my eyes and you would shrug often. It has not changed,” Neji crossed his arms and tilted his head.

Shikamaru dropped his shoulders as a smile slowly crept across his face. “You know what, you’re right. I haven’t changed. But you know,” he shrugged just for the gag of it.

“Let’s go out,” Neji said.

“Where?”

Neji shrugged.

“Don’t tell me I’m rubbing off on you,” Shikamaru joked.

“It was unintentional,” Neji defended.

“Uh-huh,” Shikamaru sarcastically agreed.

“We do not have to go out,” the Hyuga wished he had kept his mouth shut, it would’ve saved him the mild annoyance.

“No, no,” Shikamaru finished storing the goods and hovered both his hands at the sides of Neji’s head before pressing them firmly against the male’s face. It caught Neji’s attention like nothing else. His pale eyes looked to Shikamaru’s black ones intensely, as if he had seen something unexpected because the touch truly was. “I wanna go out. Let me just get myself together first, I think there’s a chance that I spilled my guts on the way here. Not really sure but pretty sure.” He lazily smiled a bit longer before patting the elder’s cheek and walking away casually.

Neji didn’t understand how the Nara didn’t seem to act like the things he did were out of the ordinary. The embrace, the holding, the touching, it was all new. It sort of irked him how the shadow-nin was able to brush everything off as though they were nothing. Neji shook his head and rubbed his face clean of the interaction. He felt things shift within himself that were alien to him and comparable to embarrassment but at the same time, strangely, an unexplained excitement.


	45. Chapter 45

The further they wandered into the surprisingly large town, the more tropical the climate became. The moisture in the air picked up and the vegetation had greener hues some being multicolored, tropical flowers. The town was tightly packed by buildings of fairly short statures but with little space in between one another. There were vendors shouting over their stands and children running and cycling through the dirt road, some on their way to become vendors themselves. The pink sky filled with smells of various dishes from the different hibachi grills, some outdoor some indoor. Outdoor cooks began to replace the daytime produce vendors as the day was coming to an end. Some of the small buildings had smoke pouring through their chimneys that added to the mix of flavors in the air.

The two shinobi stopped at a restaurant that had seating on the roof. The tables and chairs had no uniform and were each from a different furniture set but they served their purpose. The place was a hole in the wall but Shikamaru had said that the best food came from holes in the wall-like places such as itself.

“What is a hole in the wall?” Neji asked.

“When a place doesn’t look that great. It can kind of look like a mess, maybe not have enough space for even full-fledged tables but they usually have the best food in town,” Shikamaru explained. They both had a seat that granted them a view over a good bit of the road beneath them and to the neighboring roof tops that either had hanging laundry or different plants growing. Some edible some just for aesthetics such as flowers. Some roof tops appeared to house people from the looks of the mats and pillows that sat empty. It was a gorgeous place. Greener than home. The smells were more welcoming just like its people. Both males had ordered at a front counter downstairs before taking their own seats on the next floor. Again, it was Shikamaru’s idea. “You know,” the Nara spoke up. Neji broke his gaze across the land and looked to the male before him. “You remind me of Shino with those glasses.” The way Shikamaru lifted his eyebrows told the Hyuga that he found the black glasses laughable. Before stepping foot from Ichiro’s house, Shikamaru offered to go out and get Neji some glasses so he didn’t give himself away too easily. The elder shinobi dead panned. The Nara wiped the smile from his face and looked away, “sorry,” he said. Then, he heard laughter on the other side of the metallic garden table. It was the same laughter from the night they released the birds from their prisons, the same laughter he heard after they ran their hearts out to escape the area’s men.

Neji leaned forward against the circular table and lowered the glasses down the bridge of his nose, keeping his eyes shut, “no, you are right. You could have picked a different pair of glasses,” he said through a smile.

“Well I _could’ve_ chosen the ones with yellow frames with palm trees hanging from them,” Shikamaru said leaning back in the lawn chair smiling through lazy eyes.

Neji played with the glasses and shook his head, “no that would have been worse.”

“There were purple star shaped frames,” the Nara added.

“Still worse.”

“Flamingo shaped…”

“No, this,” he held up the black glasses, “these are fine, thank you.”

Shikamaru nodded, “See?”

“No, I don’t,” Neji said as a matter-of-factly through closed lids. It sent Shikamaru into an unexpected fit of laughter. Neji lightly smiled at the sound as he continued to fiddle with the lenses in his lap.

“Here’s your order of two mackerel,” the waitress sat the plate down in the center of the table, “your tea should be out shortly,” she informed with a dip of her head before walking away to check up on other tables.

Neji reapplied his glasses and watched the plate steam. There was no silverware to be found, not even a single pair of chop sticks. He watched the Nara handle the fish with his hands and it became clear that there would be none provided.

“It’s okay, don’t be shy. It’s already dead; it won’t bite,” Shikamaru teased, “ _that_ I can actually promise.” He knew that the real reason Neji was hesitant was due to him realizing that he’d have to use his hands. Shikamaru chuckled and placed his elbows against the small table as he spoke. “Look, just pull your hair back and eat it, it’s fine. I mean yeah, I clowned the glasses but I’m not gonna give you hell for eating a fish the way you should. I ordered it for the both of us because I _wanted_ you to try it; it’s a childhood favorite,” he made a hand motion telling Neji to go ahead, that he wouldn’t stop him.

The Hyuga looked to the grilled fish that sat staring up at him from where it lied on the plate. He grabbed it with both hands and bit into it, accidentally consuming his own hair in the process. He hooked a finger in the strands and anchored them from his mouth. Shikamaru pretended not to see it. Neji placed the fish against the plate and looked for something to clean his hands with. He settled on rubbing them against his shirt — luckily it left no visible stains — then pulled the hair tie from the bottom of his mane and repurposed it higher. He tied his hair to hold back his shorter front hairs, keeping them from lacing into the food each time he leaned forward.

“So, I was thinking we could walk around a bit before going back,” Shikamaru said.

Neji nodded in agreement as he bit into the fish a second time. It didn’t take him long to adjust to the eating style, the Nara could argue that he was better at it than himself. In the end, the Hyuga finished before he did after all. It was impressive really.

. . .

The waves washed ashore in rhythms that complimented the sound of palm trees swaying in the beach front breeze. They were further from town and walked the beach in darkness.

“So, you took all those guys by yourself,” Shikamaru repeated himself a second time.

Neji kept glasses hooked in the collar of his shirt since they were secluded on the far side of the village’s land. “Yes,” Neji verified a second time.

“How? I don’t remember a lot of it, but I remember there being at least ten guys,” Shikamaru asked. He tucked his hands in his pockets and slouched as his mind ran.

“They do not see the side branch as those who bear much power due to not knowing the clan’s secret jutsu, but they were mistaken. I have learned many things by observing Lord Hiashi and Lady Hinata.” He thought back. He thought about Hinata. He remembered TenTen’s words about his cousin being worried to the brink of sleep deprivation. From that day on, he had told himself that his end of the situation weighed more heavily than her worries though he had not completely dismissed them. With him on the run, she would at least have the comfort of knowing that he was alive somewhere. With his arms folded, he gripped his sleeve, “I am stronger than they will ever know,” he quietly assured.

Sikamaru knew Neji meant it, it wasn’t often that the male would compliment his own abilities. “Thanks for saving me in the desert. What you did was risky.”

“I did not feel as though I was taking a risk. I had given up completely. I planned on returning to the village and taking on the punishment they planned to give me. I did not want you to die because of me. It would have been incredibly selfish,” Neji admitted.

“Hm,” Shikamaru thought about his words. He couldn’t begin to imagine what his clan had planned for him if they ever were to get their hands on him again, but he did know that it would be something beyond cruel, “next time just let me die,” he shrugged.

“What? No,” Neji shook his head in shock.

“Yes.”

“No,” Neji finalized, stepping in front of the Nara. He secured his black eyes with his white ones.

“Mh,” Shikamaru returned the stare, “yes.”

“Shikamaru I could not live with myself if my fleeing costs your death.

“And I couldn’t live with myself if my mistake costed you your freedom, so I guess we both have our reasons to feel the way we do,” the shadow-nin argued calmly.

“No,” Neji pushed on.

Shikamaru’s head fell to a tilt as he sighed. “Stubborn,” he said. He reached out and released Neji’s hair from the ponytail. He then placed his hands underneath the thick curtain and brushed it behind the Hyuga’s shoulders gently. His hands planted themselves on either side of the elder’s face and lowered themselves just enough for his thumbs to brush calmingly against Neji’s jaw. Still, the Hyuga kept his eyes in Shikamaru’s own. His arms were folded tighter than ever. The younger shinobi’s words stung. It meant a lot that he would die for Neji’s safety, but it also hurt to hear. He wished it was just another one of the Nara’s smart jokes but by the look on his face, this was the most serious he had ever been on his word. “I don’t want us both to die because of me. I want at least one of us to live in the case of that happening.”

Neji stepped closer into the touch. “Well, I don’t,” he said quietly, firmly. Those words were what stung the Nara. He would give everything up if the Nara were to pass away. Shikamaru supposed it would be a long life of guilt and regret if it were to play out that way, so he did not counter Neji’s words. He accepted them with a nod. The Hyuga, relieved that he would not have to fight back, placed his hands around the shadow-nin’s wrists. Shikamaru leaned his forehead against the elder’s and they stood there, listening to the world around them as they came to the consensus. Neither of them knew exactly when they had grown this comfortable with one another, but the comfort was greatly appreciated and welcomed in a situation that constantly had them on edge. Water droplets began to fall in long intervals. Thunder from across the sea rumbled not long after.

“You wanna go back yet?” The younger shinobi asked at hearing the oncoming storm.

“Yes, we need sleep,” Neji said.

“Finally,” Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Much to his pleasure, the Hyuga chuckled at the fake annoyance he had displayed. The day was a nice break from their ongoing cycle of stress. Both were oddly calm to be in the situation they were currently in. It may have been the result of their new agreement on what they would do in the worst-case scenario; if one of them goes, it’s over, no more running, just surrender and accept fate whatever fate may be.


	46. Chapter 46

They ran into the shack, soaking wet.

“I told you we should have headed straight here,” Neji said.

“I had to make the stop, come on you know we needed candles,” Shikamaru countered, placing the candles on the closest surface he could find. They had both long removed their shoes because of the land’s sandy ground. They tossed the footwear to the side and took a minute to recollect themselves. Neji wrung his hair out over a tin bucket and Shikamaru removed the shirt that stuck flush against his skin. Once Neji was done, the Nara wrung the cloth out over the same bucket. “Where do you think Ichiro is?” He asked, “I mean in a storm like this.”

“Should we go look for him?” Neji suggested. A loud bang of thunder clapped just outside, sending vibrations through the small structure. The two looked to one another unsure. Shikamaru stopped drying the white fabric since it seemed like they would be heading back out soon.

“Let’s go.”

. . .

The wind whipped violently, breaking limbs of trees and sending chairs scaping against the ground. The wind slowed just enough for the two shinobi to maneuver through the streets, but it did make it hard to see straight ahead.

“Neji!” Shikamaru yelled over the wind. “I saw him walk that way!” Ichiro seemed to have caught sight of the two but then disappeared around the corner of a building at the end of the street. Nonetheless they still went after the man through the piercing rain and debris.

By the time they had inched themselves around the same building Ichiro had ran behind they came face to face with the very Hyuga they had escaped on the night they fled the village. He stared right at Neji as though bullets of rain weren’t pouring down and street clutter wasn’t flying every which way threatening to inflict damage on anything in their path. His eyes were filled with murder intent. His aura was cold. Shikamaru’s heart dropped to the bottom of his stomach at the sight of the man standing by Ichiro. He had sold them out. They heard what seemed to be repeated apologies from the middle-aged man, but they carried no weight. It showed more of his desperation to be forgiven than his actual desire to repent. His yells became white noise.

“Shut up!” Shikamaru yelled at a volume the older man could not reach no matter how hard he tried. It got the man to quiet himself. He stood there empty of any further purpose. Shikamaru tilted his head to the side, telling the man to just get lost. They were done. More than likely, the elder Hyuga further down the road had offered a reward in exchange for their whereabouts, that much was clear. The man did as he was told and walked away as best as he could in the harsh weather, leaving the three shinobi in a standoff. The Hyuga elder was clearly enraged without needing to express it facially. He removed his cloak and stood shirtless in the rain. His physique was strong for a man of his age. He stood no taller than either of the two boys but looked to be capable of great damage if he were to so much as get his hands on either one of them.

“I was informed of your escape from one of our search groups,” he said over the rain that lightened up just enough to where each of them could be heard without belting every word. Still, the downpour crashed down as the wind slowed. It was easier to assume a stance than it was minutes ago. It gave Neji just enough confidence to stay where he was and not flee this time. He had to face him.

“Neji, let’s go,” Shikamaru said lowly. Much to the Nara’s dismay, Neji stepped forward rather than backward and sized the elder up from down the street.

“When I heard of you defeating each Hyuga in the unit, I knew that you were not like the rest. You are strong. You could defeat them all at once. Perhaps it was the element of surprise. Perhaps they lowered their guards as you plotted your escape. Perhaps he helped you,” the elder Hyuga narrowed his eyes at the Nara by his side. Neji stepped in front of Shikamaru.

“Leave him out of this,” he ordered, “This is a clan matter, he just so happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“He too will be held accountable Hyuga or not!” the man roared as he took off headfirst.

Shikamaru’s eyes widened at the man’s direct charge to the both of them. He jumped out of his way but watched Neji stay to counter the impact. The Hyuga successfully guided the man’s gentle fists out of their original paths getting the man to jump back, placing distance between them. The elder Hyuga began to cycle around Neji as the younger kept his front facing the attacker. Then, the man found an opening. He went for Shikamaru at great speed and the Nara tried everything he could to evade him and his lethal palms. His speed was great and gave the shadow-nin no time to deploy his own jutsu. He kept Shikamaru light on his feet. Running was all he could do; he didn’t know if hurting the man once more would worsen their sentence.

Neji clenched his teeth with tension as he trailed the two all the way out to the coast. A part of him was grateful that they were taking it away from civilization still, it was darker on the beach. It would be harder to be precise about his aim. The three ran from the board walk, past its torches and into the rough sand. The man was dying for a rematch after being out done by two children that night in the village, and he did not plan on treating them lightly at all. As soon as his feet hit the sand, he took off even quicker towards the Nara in front of him that was pushing himself as hard as he could. The elder Hyuga kicked up buckets of sand when he ran, closing in on Shikamaru within seconds. He slammed his palm against the area between the shadow-nin’s shoulder blades and jammed his fingers into the surrounding space, making the younger fall against the sand incapable of feeling his own legs. He tried to lift himself with his arms but was forced back down by a foot on his neck. His neck would have been crushed if Neji had not blown a gust of wind to alert the man of his proximity. With a precise blow of a single palm, Neji successfully sent the man backward. Neji stepped over Shikamaru and the fight continued behind the Nara’s head, sometimes over it. He heard blow after blow, hit after hit. He had to do something. He had to make himself useful. He looked to the board walk that was visible by its torches above the beach’s palm trees.

Neji delivered hits that never landed because of the man’s high defense. Though, it wasn’t much different on the other end. Neji was not giving the man much of an easier time. Still, the elder had the confidence of simply being an elder from the Main House to back him while Neji tried hard not to let his discouragement show. The elder managed to separate Neji’s arms away from his body, leaving him open. Before the younger could shield himself, the man struck both of his palms against his chest sending him some feet back. Neji was rattled, there was plenty of chakra packed into the hit. Breathing became a task more difficult than it should have been. He tossed around in the sand suffering from the intense pain swelling up in his chest. He wheezed staring up at the black sky as tears were produced from the stabbing sensation. The man appeared in Neji’s field of vision and blocked the view of the sky from where he lied turning side to side in agony. A sharp feeling shot from his collar bone to the bottom of his ribcage causing him to gasp. Although the man’s hands had long left them, it still felt as though he had stabbed him with a dagger and continued to drag it around his chest. He watched as the elder above him raised a hand that he recognized. He planned to use air palms to crush his head against the firmness of the wet sand. Neji’s eyes widened in horror and quickly, his hands glowed a brilliant blue that took the shape of two dragon heads and shot out, sending the man high up into the air. Neji’s hands fell weakly against the sand and the ocean gently washed against him, blocking his ears on and off. The sounds around him would come and go breaking up the grunts of the elder who had fallen a great distance after being hit with a grand amount of chakra. Neji was drained. He could not breathe without feeling as though kunai were scraping against the organs supposedly protected by his rattled ribs, but when he did take a breath, he smelled smoke. He heard moving in the sand then silence then the movement again. The tide seemed to be rising and soon it would submerge the Hyuga into the ocean waters. It hurt too much to move. The motion in the sand seemed to be growing louder, “you stole jutsu of the Main House. No wonder why you were able to defeat an entire unit! I saw how you trained trying to perfect it in the village. I saw the blue spill from your hands,” it was the man he had launched coming back after taking the intense hit. He felt the movement at his feet then felt a body crawling directly against his own, “then you changed it to your liking, disrespecting it’s given name,” the man’s weight was crushing as he pulled himself to Neji’s face and began to choke the boy. “The twin lion fist is a sacred jutsu only to be performed by those who are worthy,” he was disgruntled and weakened yet not too weak to hold a firm grip on the neck before him. “Not for you to imperfect!” His hair draped against his face and fell messily against the boy beneath him. A warm glow reflected from the bit of the elder’s eye visible to Neji and before he knew it, the elder pushed his head under water. The tide had risen in the man’s favor and served greatly to drown the younger shinobi who clawed at his bare arms. The elder continued to yell, Neji could make out none of it due to the water rushing into his ears. Suddenly, the elder Hyuga fell into the water next to him but his hands remained fixed on the younger male’s neck. However, they rolled over and their positions were switched. Neji now sat on top of the other Hyuga. The elder’s head was submerged in water still, he kept a steady grip on Neji’s neck. The attacker’s face was visible just enough beneath the clear water for Neji to hold eye contact. Bubbles floated to the surface. Neji’s limbs began to tingle and lose feeling when the man’s hands fell limp into the ocean.

Neji coughed, bringing him further pain. He gasped and steadied himself, bearing his hands against the sand on either side of the elder’s head. He winced and held a hand against his own chest. Neji felt a wave of heat on the side of him facing inland and he looked up to see a wildfire that had started in the beach’s trees and shrubbery. In front of the wild flames sat Shikamaru Nara kneeling with his hands locked to perform the very jutsu that had saved Neji. He had wrapped his shadows around the elder Hyuga and tossed him into the water. Realizing that the man refused to give in even after being submerged in the tide added to the distance between himself and the Hyuga weakening his jutsu, Shikamaru had no other choice than to crush his neck given the situation and limited time. Neji continued to shake and shudder in the water as Shikamaru tried his best to be by him. The hit he had taken to the back was still somewhat in effect. It made it difficult to walk and even though he would fall unexpectedly, he still made an effort and joined Neji in the water. He wrapped one arm around the Hyuga’s shoulders, the other around the male’s waist. He knew of the gravity of what had happened. Neji watched the fire blaze on the beach front. He listened to it cook and felt his heart pound as it tried its hardest to continue beating. Every now and then he would begin to lean to the side but Shikamaru would steady him. Both were too weak to stand so they allowed the gentle waves to wash against them.

“They’re here!”

The exclamation prompted Neji to open his heavy lids. Shikamaru still held on to him as they sat in the shallow waters. They were still there. It was dark and the flames roared. He still sat on top of the dead man beneath him. He felt the Nara hold him tighter. Looking to the board walk, the Hyuga located Ichiro yelling for someone to come over.

“Down on the beach!” Ichiro yelled. The two shinobi watched as men filed down the wooden steps and ran after them. Eventually Shikamaru’s hold forced a cough from Neji. The Nara released him but gripped his shoulders to keep him up right. The Hyuga slumped against the shadow-nin’s chest and his hands swayed numbly wherever the tide swept them.

“Thank you,” Neji rasped. He heard Shikamaru yell his name repeatedly, begging him not to go under, not again. He was in the same position all over again. The world dimming, Shikamaru being by his side. The Nara was always the one helping him, Neji couldn’t help but feel guilty, but he was ready for this madness to end. He was more sorry than he could ever express. He was humiliated that his own troubles had placed Shikamaru in harm’s way time and time again. He wanted it to end. He wanted to stop running, stop hiding. He wanted Shikamaru to live a normal life away from Neji’s vicious clan, so he mumbled apologies as the Nara gripped him tightly calling for him over and over refusing to let go even when the policemen tried to pry them from one another.


	47. Chapter 47

Neji felt a weight next to him and opened his eyes to see Shikamaru lying right by him in a hospital bed built for one. The Nara was curled right next to him underneath the blanket that they both shared. He opened his eyes and caught Neji’s lilac ones brightened by the sun that entered the room’s windows. They gazed at one another. The Hyuga felt a hand rest against his head and a thumb lightly brush against his cheek.

“Shikamaru?”

“Hm?”

“Are we okay?” Neji asked.

Shikamaru smiled and sat up, pushing himself back against the head of the bed. He ran fingers through Neji’s hair, “I don’t know. All I heard was that your uncle was on the way. I don’t know what it means, though.” He looked down at Neji who watched him, stress present in his features. Right then the Nara regretted that he had said anything. “Relax the best you can for right now. You had some broken ribs and they rushed us inland to a hospital in the Hidden Sand. I didn’t want them to take you to the one we went to when you had that concussion. It barely passed as a hospital.”

“What if I had…”

“I know, I know, they told me there was a huge risk I would be taking by sending you here right after depositing you in the run down place in the Land of Hot Water but you weren’t in good hands there. I let them do the basics, but I had you transferred right after so these people could finish the job,” Shikamaru explained. "Just..." he paused, "promise me this is the last time you'll be wounded."

The Hyuga paused in thought. His eyes dropped. “Thank you,” Neji said with a brief smile. He placed his head against the shadow-nin’s leg.

Shikamaru settled on returning the smile. Still, he did not hear the male promise him what he had asked which did little to settle his nerves.

There was a knock at the door and Neji’s head sprung up to face it. In stepped his uncle, a man he had not seen or spoken to in months. He froze at the sight of such a significant figure just on the other side of the room.

“I see you are doing well,” Hiashi said. Neji lowered his head to avoid giving direct eye contact as he had been taught back in the village. His uncle stared to the boy’s bare forehead. “Look at me, Neji.”

The recovering male slowly looked up and reluctantly faced his uncle.

“There is no longer any need for you to bow your head to me. You are no longer of the Side Branch nor are you a Hyuga,” Hiashi informed.

Neji’s eyes widened at the news. His heart began to rattle again. He coughed into his arm, Shikamaru placed a hand on his shoulder. The Hyuga raised a hand signifying that he was fine, and the Nara lowered his hand, angry that such news couldn’t wait until the boy was completely healed. “I’m sorry?” Neji rasped once the coughing fit ceased.

“You are no longer a member of the clan. You are now nameless and must create an identity apart from your initial one. You are no longer Neji Hyuga.”

Neji searched the sheets for answers, for an explanation, for further details. His breathing deepened at the news. He had never expected this over the worst sentence. He was being shunned by the Hyuga clan. He saw the slightest shift in Hiashi’s firm face, but it was short lived.

“I’m sorry.”

Neji looked up in surprise, unconvinced that he had just heard the words come from his uncle.

“It was the best that I could do. I could not be too gracious to let you go unpunished after everything you have done, but I had the advantage of the law. The Hyuga Elder that had attacked you broke the laws of the Land of Hot Water and assaulted you according to a man named Ichiro along with other bystanders. I never ordered him to bring you harm, I ordered him to bring you back. Still, the land views the Hyuga clan as a whole to be responsible for the act. They believe the attack was premeditated by us all at the news of you running away. Our clan has no official arrangements that dismisses us from breaking their laws. We, as a clan would have to face a penalty due to reportedly working as a whole unit. I am sure you know what I am saying, Neji.”

“You want us to dismiss the assault in exchange for my life,” Neji figured aloud. Hiashi said nothing and waited for Neji’s answer. The younger Hyuga dropped his gaze to his hands that held on to the blanket, “I will not press charges if you make sure that I am no longer associated with the clan,” he said boldly. He could tell his uncle did not take too kindly to his tone, still he bit his tongue. After all, the boy was no longer under his authority, so the man simply nodded.

“You have two weeks to empty your living quarters and relocate,” Hiashi said before reaching for the door and exiting the hospital room.

“Neji…” Shikamaru eyed the male next to him wondering if he was alright. Neji leaned against the Nara and sighed.

“It’s over,” he said, “I am no longer of the Hyuga clan.”

“Is that… okay?” The younger shinobi asked.

Neji knew that even though he was free of the Hyuga relation, he may have to face harassment from his past clan members. Being shunned was shameful, but he was free, so he nodded silently.


	48. Chapter 48

Approaching Konoha’s gates, the two saw figures waiting for them in the distance. Both shinobi had been escorted by Hyuga that did not bother to hide their distaste towards Neji along the way. Still, Neji seemed to never be bothered by it. He reacted to nothing. There were times where Shikamaru would even drop what he was doing and look right to the male silently asking if he was really going to take a sly comment that had been made by one of the Hyuga escorts. Each time, without fail Neji would ignore Shikamaru’s glances and continue minding his own. Finally, they were back, and the run was over, however, their lives were forever changed.

Shikamaru’s mother clasped her hands together as tears flowed endlessly from her glossy eyes. She ran towards her son and held on to him tightly. The hug was more suffocating than reuniting. The Nara felt that he was trapped all over again. He felt nothing at his mother’s touch. He simply pat her back three times before dropping his arm to his side. The motion did not go unnoticed. Neji watched every bit of it and found it odd and remembered everything Shikamaru had told him on their journey. The sight of her holding on to him like her life depended on it only reinforced those depictions. He was then wrapped in a separate embrace. It was his cousin crying into his chest. Neji was sure that the clan had lied or overexaggerated their side of the story, so he decided to explain everything later when they had a moment alone. He returned the embrace and stroked her hair in order to comfort her and assure her that he was there.

“I’m sorry, Lady Hinata,” he apologized quietly. Hinata placed her ear against his chest and stared off into the distance as they stood, joined by their arms.

“It’s okay. I understand,” she whispered. Her words are what reminded the male that even if they did lie, she wouldn’t believe it for a second. She was always different from the rest. She too knew of the clan’s secrecy and unjust ways. He believed her when she said it, and neither of them cared that they were surrounded by other members of said clan. As they stood in the embrace, Neji caught sight of the other teams coming towards the gate.

“What a drag. Can we go home first?” Shikamaru groaned half-jokingly.

“Shikamaru!” Choji exclaimed. He was the first to reach his long-missed companion. He lifted him from the ground and held him close. “Shikamaru I thought we would have to replace you! You know Ino-Shika-Cho is supposed to be inseparable!” His arms wrapped tighter and the Nara was ready to give in as the world turned black right when the large boy released him. He was given no warning before Ino swept him into her own arms with a piercing squeal.

“I really thought you were dead somewhere,” she giggled. Shikamaru stared at her wondering why her mind was the way it was when he smelled a waved of nicotine waft past his nose. It triggered a memory, a dark one that took place on a rainy day. He spun his head, his naivety taking over, only to find his father stepping up from behind his team members.

“You picked up smoking now,” Shikamaru pointed out as if drinking wasn’t enough. Shikaku simply cocked his head to the side in admittance. The two Nara stared at one another oddly. Shikamaru waited for his father to hug him, welcome him back or something but nothing came. Through Shikamaru’s perspective, it seemed as if the man had shown up only to mess with him some more. Shikaku kept his eyes on his son as he puffed cloud after cloud. The younger Nara heard a cough, it belonged to Neji. He was sure the cigarette smoke had induced it.

“Talked to Tsunade,” Shikaku said, regaining his son’s attention, “she was real nice you know. She only gave you two a suspension from Ninja status for now. After that though…”

Shikamaru’s nose just barely twitched with irritation before dropping to its normal display of nonchalance.

“…I don’t know what she’ll have you two do. She’s not a patient lady. I can’t be there to fix it for you, you know,” Shikaku added, removing the cigarette from his mouth to exhale before repositioning it between his lips.

Shikamaru looked away from his old man. He walked towards him and ripped the cancer stick from his mouth and tossed it to the side, “You never were,” he said before sticking his hands in his pockets and walking off.

Neji watched the scene just like everyone else, but to maintain the welcoming party atmosphere, no one mentioned it. They went right back to the tempo they had arrived with. It told Neji that more people knew of his home life than he had thought; close to no one watched the Nara walk off. The attention went right to the Hyuga, the other recovered shinobi who was still present. Neji shifted his attention back to those around him and welcomed the greetings from the teams and their sensei. He had yet to let go of Hinata and vice versa because neither of them knew if they would be allowed to speak to one another afterwards. The Hyuga around them did not even do as much as look at him. Neji looked into the village and saw Yoshino rushing after Shikamaru but his father stayed right where he left him. Shikaku stared down at the cigarette that his son had put out before he could finish it. The way he studied it was in a way menacing making Neji fear what the boy would have to face behind closed doors. Then, he caught sight of his own team’s kunoichi, TenTen. She seemed to be staring at one of the Hyuga who refused to witness the reunion. The look on her face was one of worry, one of fear and regret. It intrigued Neji more than anything. It was odd.

“I’d suggest barbeque, but I get the feeling that you two would like rest,” Choji smiled and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Yes,” Neji and Hinata finally parted, “rest is long overdue.” He bowed and took off with everyone else into the village’s walls remembering that he would have to figure out where he will live within the next two weeks. For now, all he could do was rest.


	49. Chapter 49

Shikamaru was lying on his old bed. He made sure to close the door to get his meddling mother off his back. He needed time to bring his mind back to where it was three months prior. He stared at the ceiling above him and watched the shadows from outside sway across it. It was mid afternoon and even though he was alone, he heard the voices of his parents just down the hall. They were muffled by the walls but still coherent to his ear.

“I need to see him,” his mother claimed.

“You need help,” Shikaku shot back cooly. He was like his son when it came to firing back without sounding like they wanted the argument to progress however Yoshino had learned his ways and ignored the coolness of his tone. Shikamaru heard thuds; they were hits to the chest or back depending on how they were facing each other, but the boy knew the sound when he heard it. His mother began to slam weak fists against the man.

“Stop saying that!” She cried. She sounded on the verge of tears. “I want to see my son; can I see my son? He’s _my_ son!” Her voice went from fuming to desperate interchangeably. He heard his father’s voice but not his words. He only made out his mother’s exclamations. She was loud. So loud. Shikamaru turned on his side and watched the warm glow of the window on the opposite wall of the door. Even the smell of home made him want to leave. It was supposed to be inviting not repelling. It was the smell of homecooked meals, of warmth but the true household did not live up to it. It was dysfunctional and more willing to uphold its image as being a loving family instead of admitting its flaws and facing them with honesty.

“Don’t you dare!” his mother yelled. He heard a door slam and a lock clinking shut. The volume of Yoshino’s tirade seemed to have been dialed down due to being locked in a room, still she beat the door. From the footsteps Shikamaru heard coming his direction, his father was going to walk through his door at any second after locking Yoshino up just for a moment’s peace. Shikamaru would say that his father took ten years too long to silence her. Just as he suspected, Shikaku opened the door without a knock. He walked in and stood at the foot of Shikamaru’s bed and stared down at the boy who still watched the swaying branches outside his bedroom. Shikaku’s stare was lazy, relaxed. Nothing about him looked angry but the way the man’s hands hung in his pockets told the younger otherwise. He knew how to read his own.

“You’ve been gone a while,” Shikaku began only to get no response. “Started to think I’d have to get a new heir for clan head. You left with that Hyuga. No word on your plans or whereabouts. Nothing. You just left,” his head rolled to the side as if he were studying something impossible instead of his own son. “Hey,” he kicked the bed earing his son’s attention. “You don’t get to disappear and act like you don’t know me, boy. You left, ruined your reputation costing that position I had for you, the position I gave to you. I did everything for you and you toss it out by playing some lame game of hide and seek for damn near three months you should be grateful I even let your ass back into this house, do you hear me?” His eyes were piercing now, he didn’t bother to hide the heat behind his words. He was angry. “You left me for three months. You left your mother…”

“Don’t act like you didn’t leave to get drunk every night! You left me with her for ten years!” Shikamaru fired back, taking a stand away from his bed.

“Don’t you yell at me, I’m your father, boy!”

“Then fucking act like it because so far you’re nothing more than another drunk on the street to me!”

Shikaku put his weight into shoving the boy in the chest, knocking him back against the bed. He then placed himself over him and pinned him down, “what’re you gonna do now?” Shikaku asked. “I’m the man of this wretched house no matter how shitty it is, it’s mine and I’m not gonna let some punk kid yell at me in my own home,” he whispered in Shikamaru’s ear. “I don’t like how you’re talking to me, boy. Shape up.” The boy beneath him stilled so the elder would dismount him. Shikaku rose to his feet throwing Shikamaru’s arms against the mattress after releasing them. Shikamaru watched him numbly. He was expressionless. He stood slowly and faced the old man again.

“How can you be the man of a place you avoid around the clock?” Shikamaru hissed. He saw his father’s eyes light with rage and before he knew it, the man struck him square in the face.

. . .

Neji had been walked home by Hyuga of the Main House. They stood outside of his living quarters ensuring that no one came to ask him how to break the seal. Even then, Neji found it hard to believe that his clan would let him live knowing what he knew. It seemed uncharacteristically merciful to him. It made him uneasy and his mind spiraled with questions he knew he had no right to ask. He knew that his new freedom was going to come with an unspoken price. Hyuga may curse him every time they caught sight of him. One may try to bring him harm, another may try to rope him back into the family. He sat on the floor before a photo of his father. Everything was different now. Everything was strange. He did not know what he would do from then on. He hated the idea of asking one of his companions for a place to stay, but he had been suspended from serving as a ninja. He hadn’t a clue of for how long the suspension would last but it was his main source of income. The currency provided to them by the people of the Land of Rivers was of pure gold. He could cash it in and live off of it until he found a new stable job to hold him up until the suspension was over. He had that much figured out. He would have to search for the cheapest housing before he did anything else. He stood, satisfied with his conclusion when there was a knock at the door. He stared at it for some seconds, unexpectant of any visitors being allowed right then. He walked over and opened it to find his teammate standing right below him. He looked to the Hyuga that stood guard over his room. They did not seem to be opposed to it, so he stepped aside and allowed the girl in.

It was the first time that she had ever been in the Hyuga’s living space. It was simple. A bedroom with a bathroom near the entrance, similar to a small inn room. It was clean and did not seem to be personally decorated at all. She would have never guessed that anyone lived there. There was more dust from the time its been abandoned than there were objects to customize it. Once she was done observing the area, she looked to Neji who stood in front of the room’s door. “I have to move out within two weeks,” Neji informed.

TenTen held her arms behind her back and smiled pitifully at the news, “Mh…” She nodded and bit her lip. “I’m glad you’re back,” she said. Neji walked into the restroom, leaving the door open. She was confused by it but continued, “Aren’t you relieved to be done running?” She asked, raising her voice just enough for him to hear from the other side of the wall that separated them.

“Running had its stressors. However, traveling was eye-opening,” he said. TenTen could hear that he had begun brushing his hair. “We went places that we have all been before but never had the chance to truly see. We had time to see the different lands as what they were and what they offered rather than what they needed from us.”

TenTen’s eyes dropped to the wood beneath her feet as she gradually wandered towards the bathroom. She looked in to see Neji staring at himself in the mirror.

“I enjoyed my time away from here,” he thought aloud. His voice was quiet but audible to the girl. He looked to her reflection in the mirror and continued stroking the brush through his mane.

She hung to the door frame of the vanity. Every movement she made seemed unsure. Every step she took seemed unsteady and it matched the lack of confidence she showed through her face. “I missed you a lot,” she said suddenly. She seemed a bit timid. Neji paused at the strange display. He may have been gone for three months but it was nowhere near enough time for him to forget her usual behavior and the way she was presenting herself was not normal.

“It is good to see you, too, TenTen,” he said. He felt suspicious of her. No one should be allowed to see him until he left the Hyuga residence – so he thought – yet she was let in with ease. It was strange. Her awkward mannerisms did nothing to help her case. She stood quietly and lowered her gaze to her feet. Neji went back to brushing his hair.

“What do you want to do?” She asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean when you move out. I’m thinking you can stay with me,” she offered.

Neji turned to look at the girl who stood by the door. His eyes softened at her kindness. It was a look that she had never seen on the male’s face. “Thank you, TenTen.” It was genuine gratitude and it took the girl by surprise. The time away had done something to him. It seemed to have made him more open, more reactive. The look on his face, though rare, was a sight for her sore eyes.

She nodded speechlessly, “Yeah,” she nearly whispered.

He calmly smiled, shocking the girl further before turning back to face the mirror. “I am no longer a Hyuga. I am nameless and have to start a new life and work towards my own identity. I have been shunned by the clan I had only grown to tolerate. Though it is shameful, it is freeing,” he faced her again and leaned against the sink. His eyes studied the floor as he knitted his brow, “I am unsure of what is to come.” He seemed to be confused of how to take it all in. There were moments where he seemed relieved and other times where he came off as tense at the uncertainty and paranoia of it not truly being over, suspicious of a possibly hidden truth.

The girl was unsure of how to respond to that. She only sucked her lips in and nodded at the news. “Can you move out tonight?” She asked.


	50. Chapter 50

TenTen unlocked the door to her apartment and kicked her shoes to the side. She took Neji’s bags and set them on a low-rise coffee table that stood in front of a two-seated couch. “I only have one bedroom but at least I’ve got a loveseat.” She smiled and walked right into the kitchen that was separated from the living room by a half wall. “I’ll whip up something quick. I’m not the best chef but I know at least enough to keep myself from starving,” she laughed nervously.

“Thank you again, TenTen. I greatly appreciate everything.”

The girl watched Neji as he sorted through his bag. She was filled with joy that he had returned. The feeling welled up within her until she felt she was on the brink of tears, so she excused herself before closing herself off in the bathroom. She leaned against the door and sunk to the floor, holding her knees. She let out a silent scream then stood to face her reflection. She gripped the sink tightly and stared at her large smile that was paired with reddish cheeks. Nothing could disrupt her elatedness. She was the happiest she had been in months at having her teammate back. The one that had alarmed her by leaving unannounced so long ago. He was back. He was under her roof. She swung the door open and stepped out after taking a deep breath. She needed to calm down; she didn’t want to concern the male on the other side of the room. She stepped back up to the stove as she regained her composure and put on a casual smile, “Are you in the mood for a more sweet or savory type of meal tonight?”

. . .

Shikamaru left his home through the front door, no longer caring what his parents did or thought about this absence. They had done a poor job of making it seem like they even wanted him home in the first place. He held Neji’s pair of black glasses – now cracked in one lense – and placed them over his eyes to hide the bruise in the corner of his eye. He walked the village in search of a distraction. He was tired but his parents wouldn’t let him rest even if he wanted to. He thought about going to Choji but he was unsure of how the boy’s parents would receive him. He thought of Ino, but her father was always overprotective of her; the man would never let a boy spend the night regardless of the circumstances. Of course, he thought of Neji, but more than likely the boy was dealing with dreadful family matters right now. Going to him would be inconsiderate. He knew of two people who were liberated meaning he wouldn’t have to worry about parents turning him away. He narrowed it down to Lee and TenTen.

…

TenTen.

He took off in the direction of her apartment. He had only been there once when Ino dragged him along to deliver the girl some flowers or something. She suggested the act made one feel nice but all that ended up happening was he was stuck there for hours listening to them talk and talk. He would’ve left but he didn’t want to get an earful of how rude he was for doing so. The two spoke for so long that he had fallen asleep at some point but when he woke up the sun was halfway below the horizon.

As he approached the building, he saw a number of Hyuga hovering in the area. It was strange. He didn’t know what business they had being there, but he knew that he was sick of looking at them.

. . .

TenTen laughed, “I remember when the spicy curry just about killed you on that one mission. That’s how I knew not to even _offer_ you spicy as an option for tonight’s dinner,” she snorted. Neji and the kunoichi sat on opposite ends of the dinner table and conversed over steaming plates of rice noodles.

Neji shook his head with a slight smile as the girl continued to laugh hysterically. Then, a knock at the door sounded. The Hyuga’s face hardened knowing that it had to be someone of the Hyuga clan here to interrupt the moment’s peace as always. TenTen began to stand to answer the door when Neji stood instead, “Sit. I’ll answer,” he said without sparing the girl a glance. He walked to the door and opened it with hostility. At the sight of the Nara, his face softened almost instantly, “Shikamaru,” he said in shock.

“I’ll just go. You didn’t look too fond of seeing me,” he joked.

“No, please,” Neji looked to TenTen who nodded, allowing the newcomer to come in. Neji stepped aside, inviting Shikamaru inside. “I only thought that you were a Hyuga,” Neji explained.

“Don’t worry about it, I get that a lot. Must be the hair,” Shikamaru continued to crack jokes though he wasn’t feeling too humorous at the moment. Neji closed the door behind him and watched the boy as he approached the kunoichi, “Hey,” he greeted. He sighed and dropped his shoulders. “I’m sorry to ask this, but is there any way I could stay here for the night?”

Hearing that question confirmed Neji’s suspicion of the Nara having nothing to go home to other than trouble. The Hyuga looked to TenTen who eyed the two of them. Neji silently asked the girl to go through with it. “Of course! It’s just that you would have to sleep on the floor, I only have one couch,” she chuckled, “it’s not a _huge_ apartment.”

Shikamaru dropped himself into a dining chair, “Gods I appreciate you, it’s just one night I swear then I’ll get out of your hair,” he looked to Neji, “hairs,” he corrected.

TenTen laughed, “I never took you to be the funny type,” she commented raising an eyebrow. In all honesty she was looking forward to it being a night of just her and Neji, but she could wait.

“You are wearing the glasses,” Neji pointed out, taking a seat for himself.

“Yeah, you dropped them in the fight, but I found them. Actually, I stepped on them,” Shikamaru quietly and shamefully admitted. TenTen laughed and caught Neji’s smile.

“So, what all happened out there?” TenTen asked.

“You know, stole a guy’s shoes, lived in the woods, saved a village, saved some birds, worked on a farm, looked after an orphan, survived in the desert. I was bitten by a snake, but Neji saved me,” Shikamaru numbered the events on his fingers.

“Wow, I didn’t know you knew how to treat a snake wound,” TenTen gawked.

“I do not, I turned us in briefly. We stayed in captivity long enough for Shikamaru to be treated then escaped,” Neji clarified.

“Wow,” she breathed out in disbelief. “Well, I’m glad you’re back. I need to go to sleep; I have a mission tomorrow morning,” she said, taking a stand.

“I am sorry I cannot join you,” Neji said, “I wish you luck. We will not disturb you.”

The girl smiled and hugged the Hyuga before taking off to her room, closing the door behind her.

“I left something at the Hyuga residence,” Neji said.

. . .

Shikamaru looked around the place, “wow,” he marveled, “this place is depressing.”

“I know. It is a good thing that Hyuga are no longer barricading the door, but they have been following me around ever since our arrival.”

“I saw,” Shikamaru mumbled as he studied a photo of the boy’s father.

“Who did it?” Neji asked abruptly from where he was kneeling before his dresser. “Where did the bruise come from?”

“How did… oh. Well, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it,” the shadow-nin shrugged.

It wasn’t enough to break the Hyuga’s stare. He stood sternly waiting for the answer.

“Look, it’s not that big of a deal, it won’t happen again. My dad was just mad as any parent would be if their kid up and left their responsibilities and stuff out of nowhere.”

“That gives him no excuse to hit you, Nara. Nothing about it is normal. Nothing, Shikamaru.”

“Funny how you added my name at the end just to make sure I was listening.”

“Can you take anything seriously?” Neji asked through narrowed eyes.

“Yes.”

“Really?” The Hyuga crossed his arms.

“Yes, now can we stop talking about it, it’s making my eye hurt worse than it already does and it’s kinda a pain,” he said removing the glasses. It revealed the scale of the bruise and Neji did not bother to hide his stare.

“Lie down,” the elder ordered.

“Gladly,” Shikamaru tossed himself on to the mattress and sprawled his limbs in each direction. Neji walked towards him and sat next to the boy.

“On your back,” Neji held the Nara’s head, guided it to his lap and hovered his hand over the deepening bruise. Shikamaru closed his eyes. He had no energy to ask questions; he just wanted to take a load off even if it’s just for a few minutes. He felt a warm, relaxing sensation over the previously pained area and a green glow bled through his lids. He opened one eye and looked to Neji.

“When did you learn medical ninjutsu?” The shadow-nin questioned.

“…I taught myself enough to heal the snake bite opening on your ankle.”

Both Shikamaru’s eyes opened at that, “Gods you’re amazing,” he breathed out in wonder.

“Be still.”

“No really,” the Nara sat up and faced his companion. “You don’t give yourself enough credit.” By then the mark next to his eye was mostly healed, but he had moved before the Hyuga could finish the job.

“Shikamaru, lie back down, I am not finished.”

“You’re amazing,” the younger continued. He grinned fully aware that he was annoying the other.

“Nara.”

“Neji…”

The Hyuga dropped his hands to the bed realizing that the Nara would not do as told until he was done with whatever he was going on about.

“You’re amazing.”

“Thank you, now…”

“Now, admit it.”

“Admit…”

“Admit it to yourself because I don’t think you recognize it. Give yourself _some_ credit.”

“What are you…”

“Say it,” Shikamaru demanded quietly as he neared the elder’s face. Neji could tell that everything the Nara was doing in this moment was a distraction from the day’s tough events which the Shikamaru’s mind refused to acknowledge or revisit, so he decided to play along.

“I am.”

“I am what?” Shikamaru pushed.

“Amazing,” Neji shook his head. He raised his hand back up to the Nara’s face to continue the job only to be grabbed by the wrist and stopped midway.

“Now say it all together,” Shikamaru said. He liked to play around, the Hyuga could tell. The male was more kid like than he had ever imagined, but it was not unwelcomed. Whether it be the result of his lack of sleep or trauma, Neji could not decide. He simply tilted his head and sighed through his nose.

“I am amazing,” he said through closed lids. He felt the Nara release his wrist allowing him to continue healing the shrunken purple mark. His hand lit up all over again and the warm, soothing feeling returned, but Shikamaru’s eyes did not fall like last time. They remained fixed on the male in front of him. Neji avoided looking into his eyes and focused mainly on healing the blemish, ignoring the odd feeling within him. The Nara then grabbed the Hyuga’s hand, lowering it from his face before leaning forward to place a kiss on the elder’s lips. It was straight forward and confident and it was returned due to the feeling having built up on both ends. Neji sunk into it immediately and pushed back with just as much force landing the Nara against the bed as the Hyuga claimed his lips. The Nara placed his hands against Neji’s waist and pulled the male against him. They parted their lips to breathe and the elder placed his face into the crook of the Nara’s neck. “We can move in together and get temporary jobs to pay rent until the suspension is lifted. I can distance myself from the Hyuga and you can get away from your parents.”

“Yeah,” Shikamaru stared at the ceiling imagining life the way he had told it. “Yeah!” He rolled the two over, “Yes!” He planted kisses all along Neji’s neck. The idea was brilliant. He had thought of it but never voiced it, thinking that the Hyuga would not feel the same way. He wrapped the male in his arms. “Being on our own,” he spoke into his neck, “the freedom…” He could already feel the relief of the new way life. Neji could feel his smile, warm against his skin.

“Yes. There would be lots of it. No longer having to answer to the Main Branch.”

“No more doing everything for my parents,” Shikamaru added.

“It would just be two, it would just be us,” Neji continued. The shadow-nin rolled off the elder and joined him in seeing the new life painted across the roof over them.

“Free to go and do whatever whenever,” he lied his arm across the Hyuga’s chest, “with whoever.”

“So, this is what it means,” Neji said, “To be free.”


End file.
